Beyond Well with Sheila Hamilton: Recent Episodes
Sheila Hamilton
Beyond Well With Sheila Hamilton is a podcast for people who want to learn tools for living better. Each week, we dive into a different aspect of emotional and behavioral health with our team of psychologists, psychiatrists, and people with lived experience.
Cathleen Beerkens is the founder of A Wellness Revolution and the author of Your Creator Matrix, where she shares new research and techniques to achieve optimal wellness.
Your Creator Matrix is the interconnected framework that links your mind, body, and spirit on all levels (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) with the Unified Field. When we master our stories—the deeply-held narratives and beliefs that influence all of our choices and creations—and learn how to digest our life experiences in new ways, we gain the power to choose new future timelines and manifest the wellness, abundance, and love we truly desire.
In this thought-provoking book, researcher and integrative health coach Cathleen Beerkens shows us how quantum physics and the new sciences of epigenetics, glycobiology, and nutrigenetics can support us to create optimal cellular health, digest and assimilate our old storylines, nourish ourselves at all levels for optimal wellness, and begin to operate fully as the Creator in our lives for the good of all.
Dr. Greg Chasson is an expert in compulsive hoarding, or a persistent difficulty in parting with objects or belongings. Dr. Chasson explores the disorder in relation to ocd and offers advice to family members of people with hoarding behaviors.
Hypnotherapy is now recognized as a credible alternative treatment for many mental health related disorders including addiction, anxiety, and depression.
Sheila Webber, a skilled hypnotherapist, talks with Beyond Well about how hypnotherapy works, the therapeutic benefits of a hypnotic state, and how to find a skilled practitioner. You can learn more about Sheila’s practice at https://shifthypnosis.org/
Dr. Greg Chasson is a renowned psychologist and expert in cognitive-behavioral therapy. In his new book, Flawed: Why Perfectionism Is a Challenge for Management, he dissects perfectionism's double-edged nature and its often detrimental effects on productivity.
As an Associate Professor and Director of Behavioral Interventions at the University of Chicago's Obsessive-Compulsive & Related Disorders Clinic, Dr. Chasson draws on extensive research and practical experience.
Google compiles the most frequently asked questions regarding mental health, and the #1 question is: What is Anxiety? Everyone has a different experience of anxiety but Dr. Leslie Dobson explains the most common symptoms of anxiety and the most effective, evidence-based treatments.
We've uncovered a few of our favorite episodes that are hidden gems. Cheryl Strayed, a Beyond Well favorite, was kind enough to bring in her husband, Brian Lindstrom, aka Mr. Sugar.
This conversation around relationships, marriage, and honoring your partner while maintaining some degree of independence has everything you want in a podcast; wisdom, humor, and really good advice.
Leigh Brandon is a functional doctor who studies the connection between mental health and the microbiome.
Dr. Leslie Dobson noticed a marked improvement in her patients during Covid when they were physically unable to spend time with people outside of their bubble.
Then, as patients began socializing and working in person again, the same old anxiety, depression, and toxic stress reappeared. Dr. Dobson created "The Friend Cleanse" to help people decide who is giving you energy and who is sucking it away? Her deliberate decision-making rubric regarding how you spend your energy and with whom you spend it resulted in the book The Friend Cleanse.
Physician, heal thyself is another way of saying, "We won't believe a word you say until you take care of what ails you." Dr. Elliot Trotter recognized the enormous problem of physician burnout and toxic stress decades ago and developed one solution to help; medical scribes who reduced the bureaucratic chronicling of patient/doctor meetings.
Dr. Trotter talks about how physicians can reduce stigma, confront their own emotional and behavioral challenges, and support one another when so many in the medical profession say they are hurting.
The New York Times recently investigated the proliferation of pedophiles who stalk minor’s instagram pages, accounts that are managed by the minor child’s parents. Reporters found high numbers of registered pedophiles who were not only liking and commenting on children's photos and videos, but saving them to their own personal profiles.
What is a safe approach to social media for kids? Dr. Leslie Dobson weighs in.
Stanford Medicine has announced results from the first U.S.-based clinical trial of the ketogenic diet for serious mental illness since 1965. The study showed dramatic improvements in both metabolic and mental health.
Dr. Bret Scher is a cardiologist and the clinical director of Metabolic Mind. In this interview, Dr. Scher discusses the research into metabolism and mental health as well as the new scientific studies validating keto as a beneficial diet for people with brain disorders.
Is your child exhibiting significant behavioral changes?
Dr. Steven Whiteside joins us to talk about withdrawn kids and teens, and the steps parents can take if a teenager appears at risk of hurting themselves.
Dov Baron has quickly become one of my favorite podcast hosts. With his searing intellect and wide-ranging knowledge, his program allows the curious listener to learn from neuroscientists, philosophers, physicists, and not-so-regular people.
Dov is the preeminent expert on Emotional Source Code: the beliefs that give people meaning, drive their actions, and determine results. He is a sought-after speaker and consultant and offers one-on-one coaching for some of the world's greatest business leaders.
In this interview, Sheila talks with Dov about his daily practices for well-being, how early trauma formed his bounce-forward mentality and the habits we can all use to improve our performance and durability.
Dr. Leslie Dobson talks about one of the most dangerous personality disorders; narcissistic abusers. Her advice for singles who believe they may be in relationship with an abuser ranges from how to detect lies to when and how to leave safely. It's a must listen episode with one of the nation’s foremost authorities on dangerous personality types.
Dr. Leslie Dobson talks about the methods she uses to determine whether someone is a psychopath, and she shares survival tactics for people who are involved with a psychopath in relationships or at work.
Dr. Stephen Whiteside specializes in anxiety disorders at the Mayo clinic. Bullying is so common in kids with anxiety disorders, Whiteside outlines a process for identifying the problem, enlisting help, and keeping your child safe.
As the founder and President of the Mindful Consulting Group, Dr. David Sitt specializes in the assessment and treatment of adults with ADHD, anxiety, and mood disorders through validated treatment modalities such as CBT and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
Dr. Sitt also advises corporate clients and educational institutions on the varied impacts of technology on productivity, brain functioning, and interpersonal communication.
The Mindful Consulting team provides cognitive, psychoeducational, and neuropsychological evaluations for children and adults
Dr David Sitt talks with Sheila about adult onset Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and how adults can learn to work with their brains while minimizing stimulant medication.
Dr. Sitt is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York City with extensive experience as a therapist, evaluator, and educator.
As the founder and President of the Mindful Consulting Group, Dr. Sitt specializes in the assessment and treatment of adults with ADHD, anxiety, and mood disorders through validated treatment modalities such as CBT and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
Dr. Sitt also advises corporate clients and educational institutions on the varied impacts of technology on productivity, brain functioning, and interpersonal communication.
The Mindful Consulting team provides cognitive, psychoeducational, and neuropsychological evaluations for children and adults
This is a ReVisit we recorded for Dry January in 2022.
Many people are curious about what would happen if they stopped their drinking habit. Whether it's one glass of wine, or several cocktails a night, Dry January is gaining in popularity as people test the limits of their personal sobriety. What if you made the one biggest mistake of your life while under the influence? How do you rebuild a life without alcohol in a culture built around drinking? Angela Teuscher's story of drinking while parenting is riveting and serves as a cautionary tale for other parents.
Explosive behavior can be aggressive, defiant, or even violent. In this episode, Dr. Stephen Whiteside talks about the three-step process for bringing explosive behavior under control, including using warm attention, a structured reward system, and immediate consequences for bad behavior.
To find out more about Dr. Whiteside's work at the Mayo Clinic, follow the Anxiety Coach at the Mayo Clinic. Here is his newest book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-anxiety-coach-stephen-ph-whiteside-phd-lp/1142868466#:~:text=at%20Mayo%20Clinic.-,Dr.,with%20his%20wife%20and%20daughter.
Paul Anderson is the CEO and founder of Workhouse Media and a successful philanthropist, lawyer, and real estate investor.
Paul’s remarkable story of surviving childhood trauma impacted his many coping mechanisms, including a strive-and-drive mentality, hyper-awareness and sensitivity, and a tenacious work ethic.
How do we acknowledge the pain of past trauma while marshaling its undeniable gifts? Listen in:
This is a revisit Beyond Well. It's one of our earliest shows from 2019.
Edan Armas is an award-winning Spoken Word Artist and Poet and graduate of Stanford University. Armas was the 2019 Baccalaureate student speaker, and an outspoken voice on the topic of student mental Health. Edan’s undergraduate career focused on how emotion manifests in the body, mind and the collective consciousness. Edan encourages students to embrace both the tribulations and triumphs of the college experience, noting that the process of adulting is difficult—even painful, and how vulnerability became his superpower.
Dr. Stephen Whiteside provides critical information and treatment alternatives for children suffering with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.
We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Stephen Whiteside, a child psychiatrist from the Mayo Clinic, to our program. Dr. Whiteside specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders for children and adolescents.
In this episode, Dr. Whiteside addresses intrusive thoughts, related eating disorders, and the benefits of exposure therapy.
This show is a revisit from 2021. But, it applies today.
What if 2024 is the year you could really make the changes in your life? Dr. Jim Polo talks about the steps that are necessary to make resolutions effective, and whether psychology behind procrastination.
Happy Holiday! There is nothing better than hearing old friends.
In the fall of 2019 we had the opportunity to talk to Pop Superstar Lauv. He was just kicking off his How I’m Feeling Tour, and was using his global platform to promote mental health. In every show, Lauv took a few minutes to describe his descent into depression and severe OCD, and how he credits therapy and medication with allowing him to regain his creativity and confidence. Lauv had partnered with Microsoft to create a worldwide mental health platform that connects people all over the globe. “No Matter where people are in the world, they can see that someone else is experiencing something really similar.” Check out MyBlueThoughts.World and our blog of the concert at TheAnthem in D.C. @BeyondWellWithSheilaHamilton.com
Dr. Christine Gibson is a trauma specialist and is skilled in helping her patients navigate the most difficult experiences, including the triggering events from Thanksgiving to New Year. Why are the holidays so stressful for survivors of trauma? And what can you do to turn down the drama related to the holiday period? A beneficial episode for anyone who has been traumatized by abuse, violence, divorce, or family dysfunction.
Chronic pain affects tens of millions of Americans and leaves many who are suffering without clinical or psychopharmaceutical support. Dr. Afton Hassett, author of Chronic Pain Reset, offers brilliant insight into the origins of pain, the different types of pain, and how we might all benefit from evidence-based methods for thinking about our pain differently. Please pass this episode along to anyone you know who has been suffering from Long Covid, Chronic Fatigue, Rheumatoid Arthritis, or Osteoarthritic pain.
Artificial Intelligence is among the top concerns for business leaders; how to implement it, how to manage the societal impact, and how to prevent further risk by utilizing it.
But, as Nathan Horn-Mitchem describes, the concern about the impact of AI isn't just affecting business leaders. AI will change our lives many people cannot yet imagine; eliminating jobs, encouraging us to adapt to unprecedented change, and forcing us to become our own cyber-security officers.
In this interview with one of the financial industry's leading thought leaders on AI, cybersecurity and team management, Nathan Horn-Mitchem describes the steps you can take to be ready.
If you’ve ever passed a homeless teen on the street and wondered, “How did they get there?” or “How can I help?” this interview with Rei Scozylakas is worthy of your time. Rei Scozylakas wasn’t dealt an easy hand in this life. But, as you can hear in our conversation, Rei’s story isn’t just one of struggle. In fact, that’s not even the most compelling part of their story “Nobody is born wanting to be an outcast. It wasn’t until I was really seen by the volunteers at Outside Inn, that I realized there was a different path than the one I was on.”
We are happy to revisit our show with Lidia Yuknavitch, author of nine books, including The Chronology of Water, The Small Backs of Children, The book of Joan, and the Misfits Manifesto. Lidia's Ted Talk, The Beauty of Being a Misfit has been viewed 2,862,000 times. We think she has something to share about how telling and retelling your story can help re-frame traumatic experience.
Support for when a Coworker loses someone to Suicide. Lois Chauncey lost her husband to suicide she feared she would also lose her job due to her complicated grief. Paul Sale, her Supervisor, provided a textbook-like example of how a company should appropriately respond to a suicide loss survivor in the workplace. From the humbling way in which Paul responded to the initial news of suicide, to the steps Lois and Paul took to inform others in the workplace, the empathy, compassion, and kindness one team took to welcome back in a suicide loss survivor is a hopeful study in how a workplace can help heal a co-worker's grief, and win a valued employee's respect and loyalty.
Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff talk about navigating the holiday season, and dealing with internal and external stress.
This is one of the most relevant conversations you’ll hear if you hunker down from late November until the New Year. The holiday blues are often a barometer of the stories we tell ourselves about what we should have, and compare those narratives to stories about what others seem to have. We invite you to a discussion on what some view as the hardest time of the year.
Dr. Frank Patti joins us again to talk about body acceptance along with Paula, an Overeaters Anonymous member and a role model for many other women who struggle with image and self-esteem.
Paula reminds us that regardless of our triggers, traumas, and histories, we all need coping mechanisms to hold ourselves accountable for our own health. In this episode, we talk about some of the most effective ways to retrain our behavior and begin healing our relationship with food.
Cybersecurity executives have one of the world's most stressful positions: faced with external threats from hackers who never rest and tasked with protecting critical data, government security, and medical information.
Not surprisingly, more than half of CISO's and CIO's say stress will make them leave the job within the next 24 months. Omar Khawaja is a former CISO who decided to help others in similar positions recognize their stress and prioritize their lives in order to develop better balance in their lives.
Now, as a CISO to the CISO's, Omar talks with Sheila about resilience, burnout, and one of the world's most high-stakes job.
We are thrilled to introduce you to Dr. Christy Gibson, a physician and researcher who marries her Western expertise with the knowledge and wisdom of functional medicine and other therapies that have shown promise for patients struggling with immune disorders, gut dysfunction, and drug resistance.
Dr. Gibson's new book, 'The Modern Trauma Toolkit' will be released by Hachette Books in Spring of 2023. We welcome her understanding of integrated trauma work and her appreciation of resilience. Follow her @TikTokTraumaDoc
Welcome, Dr. Gibson!
We are thrilled to introduce you to Dr. Christy Gibson, a physician and researcher who marries her Western expertise with the knowledge and wisdom of functional medicine and other therapies that have shown promise for patients struggling with immune disorders, gut dysfunction, and drug resistance.
Dr. Gibson's career goal is to enhance individual and community well-being through health education, promotion of agency, connection, and healing from trauma. Welcome, Dr. Gibson!
Dr Frank, a practicing psychologist and member of Overeaters Anonymous, joins us to discuss disordered eating, shame, and his personal realization that food had become an addiction.
Overeating has much of the same psychological basis as alcohol and drug addictions and a twelve-step process for recovery has been immensely helpful for tens of millions of American adults. For more information https://oa.org/
Dr. Steven Batash is among the world’s leading experts on non-surgical weight loss procedures. He has worked closely with the doctors who pioneered the techniques he practices and has countless success stories of patients in the US, Europe, and South America. Dr. Batash completed his undergraduate education at Columbia University and received his medical degree from NYU School of Medicine. As a board-certified gastroenterologist, he is currently affiliated with NYU Medical Center, Lenox Hill Hospital, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
In this episode, Dr. Batash talks about the proliferation of Ozempic users and outlines the side effects and decision-making regarding long term use of the drug.
Millions of Americans are now taking drugs that were intended to help diabetics for weight management. Dr. Steven Batash is among the world’s leading experts on non-surgical weight loss procedures. Dr. Batash completed his undergraduate education at Columbia University and received his medical degree from NYU School of Medicine. As a board-certified gastroenterologist, he is currently affiliated with NYU Medical Center, Lenox Hill Hospital, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Dr. Batash discusses the link between weight management and mental health, as well as the impact of the new generation of weight loss drugs on focus, mood, and well-being.
A ReVisit with Author Chris Colin "The Day the Internet Died". Chris Colin is a reporter for the NYTimes the New Yorker, and Wired Magazine. His book OFF, The Day The Internet Died is a comical picture book about a day when all the screens went dark. We all dream about a life free of scrolling or tweeting, but Colin imagines what an analog world might actually look like and why our attachments to our screens has created a new kind of addiction and dependence.
Dr. James Polo talks about the trap of perfectionism and why perfectionists don't always end up more successful in business. How do psychiatrists and psychologists treat perfectionists whose rigidity is beginning to impact their relationships and jobs? Let's get into it!
Courtenay Hameister, author of 'Okay, Fine, Whatever' a humorous look at living with anxiety, joins us for part two of our first program ever.
Courtenay Hameister kindly agreed to be our first guest on Beyond Well and the episode remains one of our favorites; she is guileless, hilarious, and heartbreakingly real about living with anxiety. It's worth a listen, broken down into two parts.
Courtenay is the author of 'Okay, Fine, Whatever,' a humorous look at living with anxiety.
Andrew Solomon is a New York Times Bestselling author, a regular New Yorker contributor, and a person with clinical depression.
Andrew's book, 'The Noonday Demon, An Atlas of Depression' was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and won the 2001 National Book Award. The Noonday Demon's contribution to our understanding not only of mental illness but also of the human condition is stunning, examining depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms.
Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policymakers and politicians, Solomon reveals the subtleties the complexities, and the agony of the disease. ,
Andrea Herron's brilliant guidance for managing workplace mental health issues is one of our favorites. We spend eight to ten hours a day at our workplaces and the people in positions of authority can impact our mental health more than our doctors, friends, even our spouses.
This guide for how to navigate human resources and a workplace if you need a mental health break is one you should bookmark or share with friends who are struggling.
Suzanne Anderson and Sheila Hamilton's profoundly intimate and revealing discussion about losing their husbands to suicide.
Suzanne is the founder of The Mysterial Woman and a psychologist, coach, leadership consultant and transformational teacher. Her pioneering work helps guide others to awaken to their full feminine and masculine strength.In this interview, Suzanne discusses the story behind, 'You Make Your Path By Walking, a Transformational Field Guide Through Trauma.'
What is manifestation? How does it work, and why has it consumed the attention and energy of millions of young people? Cathleen Beerkens discusses the concept of manifestation and how to use its principles to create better relationships, expand your career, and bring happiness to your life.
If you love someone who is struggling with anxiety and feel helpless to impact their life positively, this episode is for you, with common sense advice and tips to help support the person who suffers from anxiety.
Dr. Jessica Chaudhary joins us to talk about the critical role data analytics can play in determining who might be at risk for suicide and how we might provide support to prevent suicide.
A Wellness Revolution Founder Cathleen Beerkens is urging you to ask these questions of your relationships; is it for a reason, a season or a lifetime? This episode is chocked full of timely advice and tips for anyone navigating a relationship.
We are undoubtedly in the long tail of Covid, and the mental health challenges that resulted from isolation, loneliness, and the impact of losing loved ones to an international pandemic.
But not everyone who is struggling needs psychiatric or psychological help. Many people attempting to cope with personal problems could use the help of a personal health and wellness coach; for help with relationships, weight management, career changes, and financial advice.
Cathleen Beerkens, CEO of A Wellness Revolution, discusses when it's the right time to hire a coach versus when you might need to seek psychological or psychiatric care.
The stomach is often referred to as the second brain, where the majority of our serotonin is made and our other feel good chemicals are created. Kathleen Beerkens talks about the extraordinary new science and age-old wisdom behind the phrase, “We are what we eat.”
The rise in conspiracy theories mirrors the rise in societal fear and anxiety. What can we do when we see others succumbing to conspiracy theories or a cult mentality? Dr. Jim Polo discusses.
Dr. Jim Polo discusses his own experiences as a military physician in the Iraq war and how trauma informs so much of the way we approach work, relationships, and our outlook on
life.?
Cathleen Beerkens is joining the Beyond Well Team of professionals. With an extensive background in nursing, coaching, and degrees in medicine and holistic health, Cathleen brings a holistic mindset to mental well-being and health.
In this episode, Cathleen talks about how she transitioned from the "illness industry" to the wellness profession and why she became aware of the importance of embracing her spiritual path as part of her personal development and enlightenment.
Kerry Cohen is the author of Loose Girl, and Crazy for You: Breaking the Spell of Sex and Love Addiction. Kerry's training as a licensed clinical psychologist and sex therapist is immensely helpful in understanding addictions, compulsions, and the behaviors society deems undesirable.
This episode looks at how Karen Karbo deliberately changed her life to live abroad and how she balances the pull of familial obligations, French paperwork, and a new, expanded way of living in middle age.Karen is an American novelist, non-fiction writer, and journalist. Karbo's three comic novels, Trespassers Welcome Here, The Diamond Lane, and Motherhood Made a Man Out of Me, were each named New York Times Notable Books.
Sabrina Ullman Matthews is one of my favorite people; a brilliant therapist, a curious and sharp mind, and such insightful views on ageism and true beauty. We spoke with her about how she lives the back half of her life with optimism and passion.How do we avoid and ignore the negative stereotypes of aging and live with full authenticity and joy? This is an episode filled with Sabrina's insight and humor.
There is no role as humbling or fraught with the potential for heartbreak than caring for an aging parent. Siblings who live nearby often shoulder the majority of hands on work, while others who live remotely do the best they can to offer financial assistance and other expertise.In this episode, Dr. James Polo talks about how communication at every step of your parent's aging process can help alleviate some of the problems that inevitably crop up when making decisions about care, housing, and end of life decisions.
The share of American adults providing uncompensated care to friends or family members with serious medical conditions and the elderly is growing rapidly. What is even more alarming is that thirty percent of long term facilities could face bankruptcy in the coming years, forcing even more of the caregiving impact in-home and onto unpaid family and friends.Dr. James Polo discusses the psychological impact of long term caregiving and shares some of the strategies for staying well.
The stigma of mental illness prevents far too many people from seeking care. Even more concerning is how difficult it is to find a practitioner in a timely manner, especially one who is taking new patients.Dr. James Polo talks about the difficulty of navigating mental healthcare and provides tips for running the gauntlet.
Dr. James Polo talks about some of the difficulties, challenges and opportunities of middle age.
Ellen Urbani is a human rights activist, mother, and urban farmer who has spent most of her life in service of others.Now, Ellen shares with us the excruciating process of uncoupling from her life partner in order to fulfill her dream of living internationally. With exquisite care, Ellen sets the stage for eventual divorce and her departure from the people and the life she’s nurtured so lovingly.
The CDC has released a worrying report on adolescent mental health. More than 2/3 of teenage females report suffering from persistent sadness. Dr. Polo discusses the role of social media, early puberty, and external pressures that are creating a pressure cooker for adolescent mental health.
In today's academic settings and workplaces, many people ask for a community-wide awareness of their trauma. A trigger warning is used to help people who may have been deeply traumatized by something to avoid being traumatized again. But are they helpful? Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff discuss the pros and cons of Trigger warnings and Safe Spaces.
How do you know when to step in to offer assistance to someone who is struggling? Our doctors talk about the difficulty of anosognosia, a condition where people who are struggling from mental health concerns aren't aware of their increasingly erratic or withdrawn behaviors.
As a Portland, Oregon resident since 2001, our host Sheila Hamilton started to notice the dreariness, lethargy, and sadness of the winter months. Seasonal affective disorder is a real mood disorder with devastating impact for people who feel discouraged, listless, and unmotivated during the dreary winter months.
In this interview, CityCastPortland talks with Sheila about cognitive behavioral therapy tricks for combatting the winter blues and when you know its time to talk to a professional.
Seasonal affective disorder is a depressive disorder that impacts five to ten percent of the population, especially those living in northern parts of the hemisphere. Dr. James Polo talks about the ways that SAD mirrors depression; lethargy, change in appetite, increased need for sleep, and irritability.
There is new science to suggest that treating SAD with light therapy, low dose anti-depressants, exercise and Vitamin D may benefit those who suffer.
Falling in love can be exhilarating, but it isn’t the secret to happiness per se. You might more accurately say that falling in love is the start-up cost for happiness—an exhilarating but stressful stage we have to endure to get to the relationships that actually fulfill us.
The most important predictors of late-life happiness are stable relationships—and, especially, a long romantic partnership. The healthiest participants at age 80 tend to have been most satisfied in their relationships at age 50.
In other words, the secret to happiness isn’t falling in love; it’s staying in love. Dr's Angela Izmirian and Brian Goff discuss the psychological components of love, attraction, and desire.
Technology has opened a new frontier in mental health support and data collection. Mobile devices like cell phones, smartphones, and tablets are giving the public, doctors, and researchers new ways to access help, monitor progress, and increase understanding of mental well-being.
Mobile mental health support, apps that can help people create changes in their personal behaviors, and telehealth are just a few of the many digital breakthroughs that have come to the aid of people who are suffering from mental health distress. However, the new technology frontier includes a lot of uncertainty regarding effectiveness, data collection worries, and lasting impacts.
Payton Nyquvest had a history of trauma that resulted in deep depression. He tried every form of therapy and meds, and was considering ending his life when he tried Ayahuasca. The experience was guided, reassuring, and transformative. Payton devoted his life to understanding psychedelics and empowering people to heal and be well through the development and delivery of psychedelic medicine and integration.
Payton is the Co-founder and CEO of Nuinum, a company that engages in both the research for psychedelics and the commercialized expansion of the sector. Payton has deep business leadership experience, particularly in the finance sector, and is a recognized innovator and visionary in mental health care.
Dr. Jim Polo has been watching the rise and fall of psychedelics in the treatment of mental health since the 1960’s when many physicians were duscredited for supporting alternative treatments.
Through the lens of a practicing psychiatrist, Dr. Polo talks about the potential of psychedelics at a time when the development of other psycho pharmaceuticals has stalled.
Nearly eighty percent of people who make New Year's resolutions abandon their goals within three weeks.
Dr. James Polo talks about how to hack your resolution into more manageable, actionable goals that will help you achieve success.
Whether you are considering a weight-loss regimen, dry-January, or changing your relationship to work, these tips are helpful and doable.
Being laid off from work is one of the major traumas an individual can suffer. Our jobs have a profound impact on our financial well-being and sense of security, as well as providing a necessary social support and daily purpose. So, how do we cope when we are suddenly laid off from work? Dr. Jim Polo provides a framework for making sure your mindset remains strong and optimistic, including:
Taking time to reassess what went right and what you'd do differently at work.
Finding a support group who can help you decompress and begin a job search.
Avoiding catastrophic thinking.
Focusing on what you can control.
Eliminating the stigma of unemployment and using available resources.
Taking the opportunity to reassess your life's goals.
Networking the right way to find the next meaningful role.
Trish Walker turned a pivotal birthday into an opportunity for spiritual growth and self-development. Her bucket list of fifty mind expanding and heart thumping experiences taught Trish the value of reaching beyond our comfort zones at mid-life. Now a certified coach, energy healer, author and part time actor, Trish inspires all of us to just get started.
Part two of our conversation with Dr. Brian Pilecki on the potential promise of psychedelics in a therapeutic setting.
Dr. Brian Pilecki combs the findings of science with compassion and curiosity. He is research the efficacy of psychedelics and studying harm reduction for people who want to use psychedelics to help with trauma, ptsd, anxiety disorders, and depression. In recent years, psychedelics have drawn interest for their unique ability to create a mind shift and lasting relief for clients who have otherwise battled intractable suffering.
Oregon has approved the use of psyilocybin in a clinical setting. Within the year, some practitioners will be licensed to guide people through a pcilosybin experience. Dr. Brian Pilecki is one of the psychologists who has studied the efficacy of psychedelics and studying harm reduction for people who want to use psychedelics to help with trauma, ptsd, anxiety disorders, and depression. In recent years, psychedelics have drawn interest for their unique ability to create a mind shift and lasting relief for clients who have otherwise battled intractable suffering.
Recorded Pre-Covid Lockdown in January of 2020. First released on Mar 23, 2020 Shame is the most painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. But, as Dr. Goff and Dr. LeJeune discuss, shame roots at the very being of what we care about most.
With an increase in public shaming, the potential of depression, isolation, and self-harm increases. The point, as Dr. LeJeune says, is to always offer a fellow human the path to retribution.
Michelle DeCourcy is one of tens of thousands of women who are choosing to have their breast implants removed. After battling leukemia in her thirties, and learning about a type of cancer that is related to breast implants, the designer and performer investigated the pros and cons of replacement. BII (breast implant illness) is not well understood, but the impacts can be debilitating. Women suffer joint pain, brain fog, and other immune system irregularities. Immediately following the procedure, Michelle noted less inflammation in her body, and her frequent bouts with anxiety and depression disappeared.
(This is one woman's story about a profound change that had a positive impact on her life and is not meant to be interpreted as medical advice. For more information, see resources below and talk to your doctor.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAprdn6bt9I
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/health/breast-implants-cancer.html NYTImes Article
https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/breast-reconstruction/types/implant-reconstruction/illness/breast-implant-illness BreastCancer.Org
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/what-know-about-breast-implants#:~:text=UPDATE%3A%20The%20FDA%20issued%20a,that%20forms%20around%20breast%20implants. FDA resource
Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff talk about navigating the holiday season, and dealing with internal and external stress.
Farzana Nayani (she/hers), is a recognized DEI specialist, international keynote speaker, and business coach. Of multiethnic Filipina-Pakistani background, Farzana is a passionate advocate for the multiracial community, and through her coaching practice, she supports individuals to move towards healing, transformation and achieving their full potential in a culturally sensitive and grounded way.
Nayani talks about:
- Taking care of your employees and giving them a sense of well-being with ERGs
- Supporting marginalized groups who have faced tragedy and also have to carry on with work: How can we support them effectively as leaders and colleagues, or, if we are these professionals ourselves – how do we best address these issues?
- Will women and other marginalized groups suffer the highest consequences of “quiet quitting” and "labor hoarding"
Jennifer Cassetta witnessed the attack on the twin towers and, months later, endured a personal attack. Jennifer turned to the wisdom of the dojo and the training and discipline of martial arts to strengthen her body, steel her mind, and expand her compassion for herself and others. The Art of Badassery is Jennifer's program for helping women feel safe and powerful from the streets to the boardroom. A third-degree black belt in Hapkido and a master's degree in nutrition, Jennifer teaches women how to fuel themselves to rise above fear and reclaim their power.
Dr. Pritham Raj joins Sheila to discuss the newest FDA-approved treatments for depression, including Spravato, ketamine, and a fast-acting anti-depressant. For many people suffering from treatment-resistant depression, these new modalities combined with transcranial magnetic resolution may offer the best hope yet for remission.
Domi Shoemaker identifies most strongly as a "Superfat gender flexing kinky queer writer and seeker of justice." Domi has always known they are different and did not try to "fit in" with the conservative, rigid norms of Idaho. Instead, Domi played little league with the boys, came out to their mother, and moved to Portland, Oregon, to find community and purpose.
Domi explored their gender fluidity long before it was acceptable, paving the way for mid-life joy and meaning. Domi's courageous insistence on authenticity has proven critical to their ability to survive and even thrive, "I am so glad I stayed alive," Domi says. "I didn't always believe it was possible."
To work with Domi, go to https://www.corporealwriting.com/corporeal-community
Carolyn Donohoe Marieb already had a busy career and one child when she learned she was pregnant with triplets. The overwhelm she felt led Marie to lean on alcohol to cope, a familiar crutch for many overstressed mothers.
Carolyn finally realized that she could no longer lead a life controlled by alcohol, and when she sought help, she discovered a community of smart, capable women who had also put their wildest hopes and dreams on hold to serve an addiction.
Anyone who is struggling with substance abuse will relate to Carolyn's candor, her humor in dealing with her previous mistakes, and her newly expanded joyous life as she nears some of the biggest opportunities offered by sobriety and mid-life.
Julia Stoops is an accomplished visual artist who took an extended break to write and publish her first novel.
While the writing fulfilled her, the marketing and publicity experience was not what she imagined, and the pressure left her feeling empty and alienated. "We don't talk enough about what happens when the dream doesn't work out," Julia observes.
Through a deliberate process of evaluation and acceptance, Julia returned to the work that sustains her with a clear-eyed view of what success really means.
One of the main components of mental strength is living in congruity with your values and your desires. We are focusing on stories of women who made complex and sometimes controversial decisions in mid-life to turn toward the version of their lives that they'd always imagined for themselves.
Karen Karbo uprooted her life and career as a bestselling author to live in Couillure, France, and make her way through the mountain of paperwork and bureaucracy to become a French citizen. At the same time, Karen's daughter gave birth, complicating the long-distance relationship. With exquisite grace, consideration, and compelling reasoning, Karen talks about why it's essential we navigate our own wishes with as much care as we offer to our loved ones.
Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal is a world-renowned psychiatrist, public speakinger, and best selling author who is known for his innovative research and inspirational writing. In this interview, Dr. Rosenthal talks about poetry as medicine for the soul. In a world that is maared by loss and deprived of pleasure, Rosenthal believes poetry can help fill in the gaps, offering a retreat from a troubled world and hope for a better future.
No two people will experience the same range of emotions during grief. The experience of loss is as unique as our DNA, and any attempt to define its duration, intensity or lasting impact falls short. Dr. Jim Polo discusses the intimacy of grief.
Ivan Maisel is Vice President/Editorial and Senior Writer at on3.com. He has covered college football for nearly four decades, at ESPN, where he served as Editor-at-Large for ESPN College Football 150, Sports Illustrated, Newsday, and The Dallas Morning News. His conversation on navigating a year of grief after the suicide of his only son is one of our favorite interviews of the year.
Cheryl Strayed is a New York Times bestselling author, playwright, and screenwriter. This interview is a must listen for anyone who is also navigating grief and encountering people who cannot hold another person's suffering.
Dr. Brian Goff and Dr. Jenna LeJeuene join us to talk about the myth of the "five stages of grief."
Kimi Culp is a multi-talented producer, writer, and person living with bipolar disorder. As a creative working in the demanding field of journalism, Culp relied on her hypomania to help her succeed--until she suffered her first devastating depression and could no longer function.
Kimi kept the secret about her diagnosis for decades. In this interview, Culp describes the impact of coming out regarding her diagnosis.
Dave Dahl is the face of a multi-billion dollar bread-making company and the marketing genius behind the name, 'Dave's Killer Breads.' Dave isn't a killer, but he has made some pretty bad mistakes that landed him in prison, where he began to recognize that his early drug and alcohol use was an attempt to self-medicate his bipolar disorder.
In this interview, Dave talks about the necessity of dual diagnosis and what leveling up to his potential really means.
Willa Goodfellow's extraordinary run through bipolar disorder may be familiar to others whose diagnosis was missed for many years: incredible highs, devastating lows, a difficulty maintaining relationships, a mercurial run through life. When Goodfellow finally sought help through medication, she thought her challenges might be over.
For many people with psychiatric problems, medicine does not work. The side effects are so numbing and intolerable that people find other ways to cope with their minds and behaviors. Goodfellow has done just that with resilience and a belief in her own self-discovery, she is living proof that it is possible to live well with bipolar disorder.
Dr. James Polo talks about the psychiatric complications of Bipolar Disorder and why it can be so difficult to diagnose and treat. People with bipolar disorder often wait to seek help until they have experienced a devastating depression following a manic or hypomanic episode.
Polo brings hope to anyone who is living with bipolar disorder, as well as those who love someone suffering from this type of mood disorder.
Andrew Solomon is a NYTimes bestselling author, and a thought leader on mental health and well-being. In his widely viewed Ted Speech, Solomon says, "The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality, and it was vitality that seemed to seep away from me in that moment."
This is an interview that is so important for anyone you know who battles depression. Solomon has taken an eye-opening journey into his own experience with depression and interviewed hundreds of other people who also suffer from this brain disorder. With empathy, sensitivity, and understanding, Solomon discusses the complexity, the mystery, and the difficulty of living with depression.
Lidia Yuknavitch is the author of several bestselling books, including her latest 'Thrust' which the Los Angeles Times calls the "Best Book of the Summer."
Yuknavitch talks about the power of storytelling to make sense of the world we are living in and the one we might just be barreling toward. She describes how, after the death of her infant daughter, Yuknavitch pieced her life back together with small scraps of paper and threads of awareness.
Please share this episode with anyone who is suffering from a traumatic loss. Yuknavitch holds the listener with exquisite care and tenderness--a gift to anyone who currently can't see their way forward.
This was one of the first episodes we recorded. Performance artist Scott Erickson describes in intimate detail how mid-life, young children, little sleep, and a desire to feel again led to his creation of the one-man show, 'Say Yes, A Liturgy of Not Giving Up On Yourself.'
Erickson's exploration of the spiritual journey of depression is one of the most fascinating conversations we've had regarding the role of art, faith, and getting out of bed even when you don't feel like it. Share this episode with anyone lacking the vocabulary for living through the hardest times.
Kelly Williams Brown wrote a bestselling book about adulting and then her life fell apart. In the book, "Easy Crafts for the Insane" Brown talks about how mental illness snuck up on her after divorce, friendship difficulties, and unexpected trauma, including breaking three limbs over the course of seven hundred days.
Warning: This episode deals with the impulse of attempted suicide and how common suicidal ideation is in the depths of deep depression.
The Anxiety Sisters (Abs and Mags) bonded in college over their shared difficulty with just about everything that seemed to come easy for other students. Decades later, the two have built a substantial community of people who share their experiences of living with anxiety while continuing to find joy, purpose, and happiness despite the ebbs and flows of their ongoing symptoms. (Part two)
The Anxiety Sisters (Abs and Mags) bonded in college over their shared difficulty with just about everything that seemed to come easy for other students. Decades later, the two have built a substantial community of people who share their experiences of living with anxiety while continuing to find joy, purpose, and happiness despite the ebbs and flows of their ongoing symptoms. (Part one)
Harris Goldberg is a skilled director and writer, and he also lives with debilitating anxiety and OCD. Goldberg's command of the internal parts of our lives that cause us pain and suffering is so evident in his interviews, and he shares how he may have finally cracked the code on how to live well with a severe form of anxiety.
Portland-based pop-soul singer-songwriter Laryssa Birdseye is most known for emotionally powerful and sometimes scathing "break-up" songs. But Laryssa has plumbed emotional wreckage and heartache to get to the place where she creates rather than perseverates, and the end product is both grittily honest and relevant to the lives of so many women who have struggled with subtance-use and anxiety.
Most people with bipolar disorder do not seek care when they are enjoying the perks of hypomania. They seek care when the behaviors of mania have destroyed their relationships, jobs, or careers, or they have sunk into the inevitable low of Bipolar Depression. Dr. Pritham Raj talks about the unique characteristics of bipolar depression and why it is so dangerous.
Comedic writer Courtenay Hameister takes an unflinching look at her life through the lens of anxiety. This is one of our most listened-to episodes because Courtenay is as real as anxiety, and anyone who has ever been told to "stop being so anxiety-ridden" understands the madness of this instruction. It is through self-compassion and understanding, humor, and the right combination of meds that Courtenay keeps her razor-sharp ability to comment on her approach to managing a serious condition.
This month we are revisiting some of our favorite conversations with artists, musicians,, and influencers whose mental health journeys inspire and educate. Brittani Warwick is the niece of the famous Dionne Warwick, and a social media manager for some of music's most influential artists. Her personal story of rising from the stigma of mental health to become one of her generation's greatest advocates is inspired and hopeful.
During the month of May, we are revisiting some of our favorite conversations with artists who have come to a place of deep awareness and respect for their mental well-being. Storm Large is an Author, Actress, Performer and force of nature. You don't want to miss the story of inherited mental health vulnerability and how Storm battles her demons with profound honesty and individuality.
This month, we are revisiting some of our favorite conversations with artists whose mental health is pivotal to their music and creative expression. Zachary Carothers is a member of the Grammy Award-winning band Portugal the Man, and a fierce advocate for mental health awareness. We talk with Zach about his personal wellness habits, and how he balanced life and creativity during the pandemic.
During mental health awareness month, we are revisiting some of our favorite interviews with musicians whose mental health stories inspire and transform. Israel Nebeker, lead singer with Blind Pilot talks about the darkest experience he's ever confronted and how he maintains his mental health awareness.
It is #mentalhealthawareness month and we are revisiting some of our favorite conversations with musical artists whose personal mental health challenges, victories and transformations are transformative. Sit back, listen and enjoy. Here's global superstar, Lauv
When a person fails a third or fourth anti-depressant, the chances of success on another round of medication fall to 6.7 percent. And yet many patients whose medications have stopped working are advised to keep trying. Todd's story of depression worsening to the point of suicidal thinking is an example of the trap these patients find themselves in. Fortunately for Todd, transcranial magnetic stimulation provided an effective alternative to medicine.
Daryl Tol is the Executive Vice President overseeing the One Mind at Work programs. He brings more than twenty years of healthcare leadership to One Mind, where a global coalition of employers and partners is transforming the approach to workplace mental health and wellness.
Tol shares how his personal battle with anxiety continues to shape his work and his belief system regarding equity, diversity and inclusion.
Dr. James Polo trained at the United States Army War College and has served two tours of duty as a behavioral health care specialist. Dr. Polo's expertise on how to remain psychologically grounded during times of war is especially relevant to the times we are in.
In part two, we discuss how to reduce the anxiety and depression brought on byevents outside of our control.
Dr. James Polo trained at the United States Army War College and has served two tours of duty as a behavioral health care specialist. Dr. Polo's expertise on how to remain psychologically grounded during times of war is especially relevant to the times we are in.
In part one, we discuss how to talk about war with children and young adults, why limiting media consumption is so important, and how to prepare for a long-drawn-out conflict.
Andrea Herron is a seasoned HR Executive, author of "There's an Elephant in Your Office," and host of the HR Scoop podcast. She is a passionate advocate for addressing mental health in the workplace, and bolstering diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
Andrea talks with Beyond Well about the important role of managers in creating a culture of mental health awareness, support, and belonging, and she answers some of the toughest "what if?" questions from our audience.
Andrea earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Western Kentucky University.
Chris Cummings is the CEO of WellBeing at Work World, an integrated multi-channel platform to make the wellbeing of the workforce a strategic priority in every organization. In this interview, Chris talks about the profound changes the pandemic brought to mental health awareness in the workplace, and what companies can do to help support and better the lives of their employees.
John Harrison is the General Manager of WebMd Health Services, where he is instrumental in developing the company's vision to empower organizations and their populations to improve well-being. John has more than 25 years of strategic, client, and operational leadership. In this interview, John talks about the critical need for mental health screening, outreach, and education to be a part of every organization's well-being charter.
Dr. R. Pritham Raj is both an internist and a board-certified psychiatrist. In this interview, he talks about the scientific evidence behind transcranial magentic stimulation, or TMS, an FDA approved therapy that is helpful for people with treatment resistant depression. (TMS is covered by most insurance.)
Abby Greenberg and Maggie Saracheck (Abs and Mags) join Sheila in part two of a conversation about managing anxiety, the benefits and realities of medication management and why belonging to a growing community of people who openly live with panic disorders and anxiety helps in every aspect of life.
Abbie Greenberg and Maggie Saracheck (Abs and Mags) met in college when they struggled with anxiety. Their bond and daily conversations about coping led to a lifelong friendship and a new book-- The Anxiety Sisters Survival Guide, part evidence-based journal, part heart-based memoir. Highly recommended.
Yuvi Zalkow is a writer, novelist, software developer and a man who deals with chronic pain through creativity, setting realistic goals, and loving his interior.
This conversation with Yuvi about his new book, 'I Only Cry With Emoticons" is a perfect release for Valentine's Day, since it is filled with my love for this brilliant Portland-based writer.
Kimi Culp is a multi-media producer devoted to bringing original ideas and concepts to life online and onscreen. She is also a person who kept her diagnosis of bipolar disorder a secret to all but her closest friends and family.
Kimi's experience as a producer for NBC, ABC, and The Oprah Winfrey Show provided the perfect context for a person working with hypomania--until the fast pace of news and storytelling began to extract an incalculable toll.
We talk with Culp about self-stigmatizing, shame, and how living openly with bipolar disorder has changed her perspective on herself and her potential.
Steven Milanese takes us on an intimate path from addiction to how he eventually elevated his life as a supervisor of alcohol and drug treatment programs at Fora Health. How much does a person share about their past? What conditions are best for a person who wants to live in long-term recovery? From trauma to triumphing over drugs and alcohol, Milanese concludes our focus on #recovery during #DryJanuary.
Mike Hovey ran a successful drug trade. He luxuriated in money, women, and status. He even made that profile work for him in prison, where he was at the top. Until it all came crashing down and Hovey had to go on a journey of self-exploration, mindfulness and meditation to recover.
Every path to recovery is different. But Hovey is on a mission to help others see the benefits of an inner exploration.
Mariah Myton, Naomi Castor, and Connie McDowell share the heartbreaking and potent realities of loving someone with a substance abuse disorder. When one member of a family gets sick, the entire family unit tilts on its axis until that person is in recovery--and sometimes that recovery is not guaranteed.
How do we accept our loved ones where they are, and at the same time draw healthy boundaries around our loved one's behaviors and actions. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who loves someone with alcoholism or addiction.
Many people are curious about what would happen if they stopped their drinking habit. Whether it's one glass of wine, or several cocktails a night, Dry January is gaining in popularity as people test the limits of their personal sobriety.
What if you made the one biggest mistake of your life while under the influence? How do you rebuild a life without alcohol in a culture built around drinking? Angela Teuscher's story of drinking while parenting is riveting and serves as a cautionary tale for other parents.
There is no more powerful testimony as to the challenges and rewards of sober living than to hear from former addicts turned recovery champions. Monta Knudson describes the difference in the way he interacts with family and clients as he helps others navigate sobriety, and Kelly Stromberg became an Addictions Counselor Supervisor after getting the help she needed to live without substances. Raw, emotional, and uplifting, these interviews are aptly timed for Dry January, when many people are considering cutting back or quitting alcohol and drugs.
People in toxic relationships need help from friends, family, and professionals to commit to change. There is no AA or NA for this. Changing is a process and not simply a decision. In this interview, Dr. Izmirian and Goff discuss the warning signs of a toxic relationships and the important steps partners need to take to heal. (If you are being physically, verbally, or sexually abused in a relationship you need to exit it immediately and seek help.)
Dan Devaney and Taj Dashuan were both incredibly successful college athletes, Dan at the University of Oregon, and Taj at Stony Brook University. But when the rigor, concentration and training of sports went away for Dan and Taj, so did their will to live. Both men struggled with substance abuse and depression. Dan found himself seriously considering suicide. Through an excruciating journey of self discovery and giving back, both men have found the ability to connect with other former athletes who are struggling with addiction and mental health problems.
Emotionally Focused Therapy is based on clear, research-based conceptualizations of individual growth, health and dysfunction. It is particularly useful in couples therapy, and as Dr. Izmirian explains, allows clients to explore and change strategies and interventions in a supportive and respectful setting. ETF has been validated by over thirty years of empirical research.
Rabbi Brian Zachary Mayer grew up rational on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Asking the question why led him to rabbinical school. His love of humanity pushed him out of organized religion and to run Religion-Outside-The-Box, an internet-based congregation of 1,000’s. He loves living in Portland, Oregon with his partner and their two children.
Some people with ADHD have fewer symptoms as they age, but some adults continue to have major symptoms that interfere with daily functioning. In adults, the main features of ADHD may include difficulty paying attention, impulsiveness, and restlessness. Symptoms can range from mild to severe.
Many adults with ADHD aren't aware they have it — they just know that everyday tasks can be a challenge. Adults with ADHD may find it difficult to focus and prioritize, leading to missed deadlines and forgotten meetings or social plans. The inability to control impulses can range from impatience waiting in line or driving in traffic to mood swings and outbursts of anger.
Brittani Warrick is a producer and social media strategist behind some of music's biggest names, including her aunt, singer Dionne Warwick. Warrick uses her savvy and power in media to open conversations about mental health, what wellness really looks like, and how maddening it is to navigate the mental health system. An inspiring inter-generational conversation with one of America's most promising young advocates.
Adam Stern was a student at a state medical school before being selected to train as a psychiatry resident at one of the most prestigious programs in the country. His new and initially intimidating classmates were high achievers from the Ivy League and other elite universities around the nation.
In his memoir, Stern pulls back the curtain on the intense and emotionally challenging lessons he and his fellow doctors learned while studying the human condition, and ultimately, the value of connection.
In this interview, Stern combines his clear-eyed concern for the field of psychiatry as well as poignant memories about his residency at Harvard. A must-listen for anyone considering psychiatry.
Why is it so hard to set boundaries? Oftentimes, it signifies a deeper value set. If you’re the type that always wants to be there for people you care about, it’s because you value relationships. If you’re the one at work who says yes to every project, it reflects how much you value learning. But when we only say yes, we might be missing chances to invest our time and energy in ways that help us take our values and our goals to new levels.
Dr. Jim Polo talks about somatic disorder; characterized by an extreme focus on physical symptoms— such as pain or fatigue — that causes major emotional distress and problems functioning. You may or may not have another diagnosed medical condition associated with these symptoms, but your reaction to the symptoms is not normal. What to do when the body goes offline due to psychological suffering.
Ivan Maisel is well-known as one of the country's experts on college football. But the terrain of grief was something he'd never explored in-depth until the suicide of his son, Max. Maisel's memoir, 'I Keep Trying to Catch His Eye', gives voice to the hundreds and thousands of families who have lost someone to suicide and explores in intimate detail the journey one takes in order to accept grieving as an act of love.
Emotional Intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. While emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, those who possess the inborn characteristics of EI have more meaningful relationships, excel in most work situations, and report easier times managing the complexities of work/life balance. How do you learn to understand, interpret and respond to the emotions of others if you lack emotional intelligence? Dr. Jim Polo weighs in.
Post-traumatic growth describes the positive psychological change experienced due to struggling with highly challenging, highly stressful life circumstances. Many people who have gone through traumatic experiences relate how the experience deepened their beliefs, relationships, or spiritual understanding. Dr. Jim Polo talks about whether post-traumatic growth is possible during the pandemic and what we can do to be open to the possibility.
During the course of researching, producing, and reporting on this series, Sheila Hamilton's nephew died, presumably of an overdose. Dr. Jim Polo talks about the complicated grief created by the death of an addict.
How do you begin to get help for a person who is addicted to a substance? Where do you turn for evidence-based, trauma-informed care? Fora Health's Kevin Mahon and Nerissa Heller detail the steps involved in in-patient, outpatient, and remote treatment, along with the pathways to coverage.
The pandemic has been difficult for people in recovery. There has been a thirty percent increase in deaths by opioids and a sharp uptick in the number of people who are using substances to cope with the isolation, pain, and loneliness of quarantine. Dr. Amit Shah talks about the public response to the epidemic and why one person who believes in the person's recovery can make a difference.
Dr. Eowyn Rieke is a primary care physician who saw how the opioid epidemic was overshadowing any kind of preventative care she could offer her patients. She specializes in the treatment of addiction and offers her patients medications to help treat the addictions. In this episode, Dr. Rieke breaks down addictions by substance and details the evidence for using medications to help treat various addictions.
Dr. Paul Conti is a board-certified Psychiatrist and the Author of Trauma: the Invisible Epidemic. Imagine, if you will, a disease―one that has only subtle outward symptoms but can hijack your entire body without notice, one that transfers easily between parent and child, one that can last a lifetime if untreated. According to Dr. Paul Conti, this is exactly how society should conceptualize trauma: as an out-of-control epidemic with a potentially fatal prognosis. Dr. Conti discusses the role of trauma in addiction and substance use.
Kelly Williams Brown is the NYTimes bestselling author of Adulting, a charismatic and charming redhead whose manners and signature dresses evoke another kinder century when people's manners were still intact. Kelly is also a person who attempted suicide after the worst 700 days of her life. We can be polar opposite things, whipsmart and suicidal, not doing well and extremely talented, hopeful, and perseverating around all of our failures. Kelly talks openly about how the wrong medicine and a string of failures led her to the very worst thing and how folding small stars into tiny shapes (and other crafts) saved her life.
Actor, Director, and Author Rose McGowan is synonymous with the Me Too Movement and a global awakening regarding the insidious nature of sexual harassment in film, corporate America, and politics. She was awarded Time Magazine's Person of the Year for speaking out about sexual assault and the ways in which Harvey Weinstein intimidated, coerced, and tracked his victims.
McGowan is the NYTimes bestselling author of the memoir, Brave, and has turned her attention and energy toward cultural resets and personal well-being.
The opioid crisis represents one of the greatest national public health emergencies of our time, ravaging communities throughout this country for decades. And unlike COVID, there is no vaccine on the way; there will never be a “silver bullet” for this intricate problem. But SafeRx has developed a solution to a previously unaddressed dimension of the crisis that is responsible for thousands of fatal prescription overdoses every year…the combination of opioids with alcohol. The opioid crisis is fueled by alcohol.
We talk with Neurologist Dr. Michael Presti about a breakthrough medicine designed to prevent the overdose epidemic.
Part two of our conversation with Dr. Dre Irazarry Md, and Cristina Olivette Spencer, a trans family coach, author, and consultant.
Simone Biles was expected to be the talk of the 2021 Olympics because of her history of dominance in women's gymnastics. Instead, she became the talk of the world by drawing a line when it came to her willingness to perform at less than peak mental capacity. Dr. Jim Polo, "It was a no heard around the world."
Think your child might be trans? Cristina Olivetti Spencer and Dr. Dre Irizarry, MD provide a compassionate, realistic view of what's ahead for parents of self-Identifying trans youth. The number of young people seeking clinical services appears to be growing as well. A major clinic in the United Kingdom saw a more than 300 percent increase in referrals over the past three years. In the U.S., where youth gender clinics are somewhat newer—40 or so are scattered across the country—solid numbers are harder to come by. Anecdotally, though, clinicians are reporting large upticks in new referrals, and waiting lists can stretch to five months or longer.
To millions of readers around the world, Dr. Wayne Dyer was the beloved “Father of Motivation”―but to Serena Dyer and her seven siblings, he was simply “Dad.” When he died suddenly in 2015, the family was blindsided by grief and felt unprepared to navigate life’s challenges and conflicts without his guidance.
The experience launched Serena and her sister Saje on an adventure from loss to understanding as they came to realize and metabolize their father’s teachings with a new urgency, intimacy, and power as they applied them to their lives. As their journey unfolded, they realized their father’s wisdom―“The Knowing”―was embedded in their DNA … as it is for all of us.
Jodi wrote Beyond Well, describing her transition back to work as a missile re-entering the atmosphere too quickly. Many of us have the feeling that we are not quite ready to re-emerge after a year or more of quarantine. Dr. Jim Polo provides guidance and empathy for those who are not quite ready for the new normal.
In his thirty years as a special operations officer, Dan Schilling
learned multiple skills to keep himself and his crew alive in the most
dangerous situations. Now, Schilling shares these secrets with
you and those you love.
Dr. Jim Polo talks about the impulses and implications of jealousy, an emotion that is primarily driven by low self-esteem and a lack of self-worth. How do we work with this emotion if it is giving us vital information about our lives? Listen in.
Dr. Jim Polo takes us beyond the stereotypes of the sterile offices and fainting couches to what really goes on in therapy, from the client's perspective and the perspective of the psychiatrist.
Dr. Jim Polo talks about data regarding the thoughts and views of people who are vaccine resistant as well as effective ways that we can have the conversation about our own choice to vaccinate.
We continue our conversation with Logan Lynn, musician, entrepreneur, and creator of the dot gay website, where young people hoping to learn more information about coming out and living their truth can network, socialize and learn more about gender and gender identity.
Logan Lynn is an American musician, writer, producer, filmmaker, television personality, mental health advocate, and LGBT activist.
Since 1998 he has released nine studio albums and became the spokesperson for the .gay domain. Lynn's childhood was scarred by sexual abuse and trauma and by his early teens, Lynn turned to drugs to cope. He was homeless before finally being introduced to a therapist who said, "What happened to you?", helping Lynn untangle decades of unhealthy coping mechanisms. This is a riveting two-part series on recovery, music, and becoming your own life mentor.
Fawn Preston and Angel Prater founded AWARE Consulting Group to help people and organizations offer truly trauma informed approaches to service delivery and crisis intervention. Every time we make a decision, interpret a conversation, or close a business deal, we are doing it through our own lens of trauma. Learning to be trauma aware is fundamental to an organization's success.
As kids make their way back to in person learning, there is trepidation and fear among those kids who were the subject of bullying. Dr. James Polo offers a different perspective, "We will never end bullying. It is imbedded in the social construct that some people will use cruelty and teasing to improve their ranking." Polo says. "What we can do is teach our kids to be aware of bullying, how to report it when they see others doing it, and how not to become the victims of bullies. "
Entertainers were hit particularly hard during the pandemic. If you make your living in front of people, your income and your profession were put on hold. Storm Large dealt with the isolation and loneliness of the pandemic with honesty, vulnerability and a difficult question, "If I'm not performing in front of thousands of people, who am I?"
The answer revealed itself in the form of live-streamed pajama sessions, honest conversations with others about their mental health and well-being, and the spark of genius that keeps us coming back for more, more, more from Ms. Large
It is a lot easier to be angry at someone than to tell them you are hurt. Anger is a readily accessible emotion and its impact on our bodies and our societies is evident, especially in a year of stress, uncertainty and social tension.
Dr. Jim Polo talks about how to recognize, moderate and manage anger.
Steven Wolt rejoins us to bring us up to date on Veritus INC., a fully confidential and evidence based recovery program for healthcare workers, lawyers and professionals.
Americans are under tremendous stress; economically, physically and spiritually. How does one understand when he/she/they is coping versus on the verge of a mental breakdown? The line between sanity and mental illness and how to cope with early symptoms in this episode with Dr. Jim Polo.
There’s no guidebook for parenting during a pandemic. Sheltering at home means being yourself in front of your kids, all day every day, without the release of school or the office. Sad House is one mother’s guide to stumbling through a season of loss with humor, creativity, and hope.
When Laura Stanfill’s best friend was killed by the virus in April 2020, her daughters experienced her grief at close range. They asked questions. They brought her treats. And when she didn’t stop crying, they admitted frustration and begged her to be happy. Over the next several months, with storytelling and art, gardening and games, Laura found her imperfect way through deep grief—just in time to weather a second major loss. Through Laura experimenting with her own creativity, Sad House offers a guide for family resilience, growth, and how small, shared joys can sustain a household in difficult times.
Researchers estimate as many as ten percent of people who contract Covid 19 do not make a quick recovery. Many of these Covid long haulers are still suffering months later with debilitating fatigue, brain fog, gastrointestinal illness and psychological disturbances. Christina Preston-Beard discusses how dramatically her life has been altered by COVID-19.
Families have adapted to Covid-19 whether they wanted to or not. Many remote workers who hated the isolation in the beginning would now prefer to work from home. Many children, who loathed the idea of staying home are now worried about going back to school. How do you prepare your family for the psychological flexibility needed for this next stage of Covid-19? Dr. Jim Polo is here to help.
Chris Colin is a reporter for the NYTimes the New Yorker, and Wired Magazine. His book OFF, The Day The Internet Died is a comical picture book about a day when all the screens went dark. We all dream about a life free of scrolling or tweeting, but Colin imagines what an analog world might actually look like and why our attachments to our screens has created a new kind of addiction and dependence.
Unemployment can be one of the greatest stressors in a person's life. Combined with a global pandemic and economic uncertainty, it's no wonder that a record number of Americans are reporting anxiety and toxic stress. Jenny Foss, the CEO of JobJenny talks about the steps we should take now to be job ready and the psychological framework it takes to survive unemployment.
Jarvis Sam is the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at Nike, one of the world's most respected and recognized brands. Sam talks about the racist attacks against Asian Americans, the four steps every company should take to actually integrate true diversity and inclusion into everyday values, and his own mental health practice for remaining optimistic, balanced, and passionate about changing the world.
This Beyond Well was created from our Chasing Chaos interview with Andrew Shayde, a fan favorite on the hit Discovery series, Naked and Afraid. Andrew came out as a gay man to his Baptist parents, traversed the wild ride of the Amazing Race and then decided to test himself even further by stripping down and enduring the African wild. The hardest part? Overcoming the fear, sleep deprivation and psychological distress of extreme conditions. Andrew's five steps for survival are genius.
We had such a phenomenal response to our video series, "Chasing Chaos," we are bringing you the conversation to our friends at Beyond Well. Courtenay Hameister is the author of Okay, Fine, Whatever, and the former host of Live Wire Radio. Courtenay spent one year challenging herself with the most frightening things she could think of in an attempt to confront her anxiety with hilarious and insightful results. Then, a pandemic hit, forcing everyone to examine their coping methods.
Stephanie Thornton Plymale lived in a car with her mentally ill mother, became a ward of the state of California and an abused foster child, endured multiple car wrecks and physical traumas, and is one of the most optimistic, cheerful people I know. How do we bounce forward from trauma? How do we work with the anxiety and fear in our body that is created by trauma in order to understand and assimilate what happened to us? For Stephanie, it was investigating the onset of her mother's multiple personality disorder and realizing the extent of intergenerational trauma. American Daughter is above all, a book about hope.
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a mood disorder characterized by depression that occurs at the same time every year.
Seasonal affective disorder occurs in climates where there is less sunlight at certain times of the year. Symptoms include fatigue, depression, hopelessness, and social withdrawal. Treatment includes light therapy (phototherapy), talk therapy, and medications.
Joy Scott is the CEO of Scott Public Relations and a lifelong spiritual leader. Scott's book, Magenta Nation, turns the reader's attention toward the disastrous political divide in the United States and offers a clear communications strategy toward unification. Scott's book was written before President Biden's inaugural speech on Unity, but the themes and suggestions are similarly urgent; we must learn to be able to disagree without hating one another. How do we begin? Listen in.
What if 2021 is the year you could really make the changes
in your life? Dr. Jim Polo talks about the steps that are
necessary to make resolutions effective, and whether
psychology behind procrastination.
Margo Fowkes turned her enormous grief over
the death of her son into a global force for healing. An extraordinary
interview with a mother, entrepreneur and activist about the
communal nature of grieving.
Loneliness is now a major health crisis, as lethal as smoking fifteen cigarettes per day. Let us sing, paint, walk, read and connect our way out of loneliness and relearn the art of being alone. Dr. Jim Polo offers tips for combatting loneliness during quarantine.
It is a time of great suffering for many people. Self-reported surveys suggest 2/3 of Americans are experiencing severe depression and anxiety. But, if you are a family member of someone who is suffering, talking about mental health issues is extraordinarily charged and potentially dangerous. Dr. Jim Polo walks us through best practices for helping someone who is hurting emotionally.
Cristina and Jamaal Lane founded three barbershops for black clients living in Portland, Oregon. Their conversations with thousands of people about what they needed to cultivate greatness led to the creation of Be Great University, a virtual community and learning platform for professionals who want to pivot professionally or increase their core business skills. Be Great University provides a step by step process for finding your inner purpose.
More than half of all Americans are coping with quarantine stress, depression and anxiety. Substance abuse and drug use has also increased and access to residential treatment centers is limited due to the spread of the pandemic. Dr. Jim Polo walks us through treatment options available during this time.
Researchers are scrambling to understand just how COVID-19 impacts the brain and what scientists can do to prevent long-term damage. Anxiety, depression, brain-fog, hallucinations, stroke and olfactory damage are all neurological symptoms now associated with Covid19. Dr. Jim Polo talks about potential treatment and outcomes available for people with neurological symptoms.
Steven Wolt is a recovered addict and entrepreneur who has studied what works in behavioral healthcare. As CEO of Veritus Solutions, Steven understands better than most the shame and stigma of seeking help for addiction. Wolt launched Veritus Solutions to provide recovery options for healthcare workers who are dealing with alcoholism, substance abuse, depression, or anxiety during Covid19.
If you've ever wished for a successful, empathetic human to describe anxiety accurately, meet Harris Goldberg. Harris is a writer, producer and director (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo: The Master of Disguise), and his own film Numb, inspired by his experiences dealing with depersonalization disorder and ocd. Goldberg talks with Beyond Well about the origins of his anxiety and how Covid quarantine has forced him to stress test his coping mechanisms.
Dr. Jim Polo talks about the disturbing increase in reported incidents of psychosis, a severe mental disorder in which though and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality. "In those who face a high risk for somebody developing a psychotic disorder, cannabis can act like a trigger."
Dr. Marissa Alert shepherds her clients through the ups and downs of wellness. Among the most tricky months--from Thanksgiving until New Year. Add in a global pandemic, with economic stress and fewer opportunities for socializing, and your wellness routine can be easily sabotaged. Dr. Alert has some key advice for people hoping to keep it realistic this holiday season.
Dr. Rhonda Wells-Wilbon offers a reflection on the healing power of faith during times of social unrest. She encourages her clients and students to develop an intellectual curiosity about their spiritual being (whether they believe in a God or not), and to sit in meditation or prayer. In the days leading up to the election, we could all use a little more hopefulness and positivity. Dr Rhonda delivers.
An “internal locus of control” is the belief that our actions have a direct effect on the outcomes in our life. Dr. Jim Polo explains the theory behind the locus of control and why it's important to our self-development, safety, and well-being when we focus on the things in our lives that are within our control. Please share this episode with anyone who feels overwhelmed by the recent election.
The majority of people who are threatening suicide either present at an emergency room or they see their primary care provider in the weeks before an attempt. For too long, health officials have not known how to properly evaluate for suicidal ideation and intent. Now, Jaspr Health is saving lives. The interactive tool empowers evidence-based suicide care at scale, and improves patient outcomes and experiences. Topher Jerome, a suicide attempt survivor, takes us through this revolutionary new platform.
Csaba Mera is a former pediatric oncologist and a physician who has often wished he could provide more comfort to his suffering patients. As a screenwriter, his newest film Here Awhile, examines the Oregon Death with Dignity Act through the lens of a young woman who has made the personal decision to avail herself of the law.
Mera’s film is winning international acclaim for its candor, humanity and intimacy. How does a physician come to the place in life where art communicates his deepest questions? And how does an award-winning screenwriter balance the demanding career as a physician? Mera’s immigrant story is one not to miss. Here Awhile is now available on Amazon.
Childhood is fraught with mood changes and behavioral adjustments. So, what separates a normal child struggling with anger, relationships and learning with someone who is exhibiting symptoms of BiPolar disorder? Dr. Jim Polo discusses the specifics of bipolar disorder in children here and why he is particularly conservative when medicating young people.
Willa Goodfellow is one of the most insightful, optimistic and hopeful interviews we’ve ever done with someone living with bipolar disorder. Misdiagnosed, overmedicated and left distraught by her mental illness, Willa’s remarkable story of recovery will leave you cheering and sharing the episode with others.
With a high degree of emotional intelligence, also known as emotional quotient (EQ), in the workplace, a person uses social skills, self-awareness, motivation and self-regulation to acknowledge, comprehend, regulate and reason using the emotions.
Robin Hills is an emotional intelligence coach. He is Director of EI4Change, a company specializing in people development and the practical application of emotional intelligence in improving performance.
Dr. Jim Polo talks about the potential and pitfalls associated with treating people with Bipolar disorder.
Dr. Alert received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Miami and her bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. She has experience working with adults to help them better manage stress, improve their health habits, and live a life that is in line with their values.
In this episode, Dr. Alert focuses on the stress of Covid19 on black Americans and the increase in emotional eating.
Dr. Rhonda Wells-Wilbon joins the Beyond Well team to provide the perspective of a social worker in the overall picture of mental wellness. Dr. Rhonda has been a social work educator for 25 years teaching at the undergraduate, masters, and Ph.D. level. She is an author, psychotherapist, trainer, and holistic wellness coach. She has expertise working with adult survivors of sexual abuse and assault and financial planning. As an African American woman, Doctor Rhonda will also help provide insight into racial trauma, and resistance to counseling and therapy in the black community. She is the mother of two young adult sons who are both in graduate school.
Robert Kolker is the author of Lost Girls, a New York Times Best-seller. His new book, Hidden Valley Road, is an Oprah Book Club pick and a scrupulously researched accounting of the Galvin family, a Colorado Springs family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia. The family became subjects of researchers investigating the genetic origin of schizophrenia.
The Covid-19 Pandemic has had a severe impact on mental health. More than 260,000 people have been impacted by anxiety and depression. In a volunteer survey, sixty percent of people report mental distress due to concerns about contracting the virus, economic stress, and the pressures of quarantine. Now is the time to seek help--but how do you find the right practitioner? This episode answers all of your questions.
Dr. Jim Polo has worked as a general physician, a child psychiatrist, an adult psychiatrist, and in a state hospital setting. He's now the Director of Behavioral Health for Cambia Health Solutions. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Polo about why he chose this specialty and what his biggest breakthroughs/disappointments have been.
Laura Munson is the bestselling Author of This is Not the Story You Think it Is, a beautifully honest and searing memoir about a marriage that is coming apart.
In her new book, Willa's Grove, Munson explores the power and wonder of sisterhood, belonging, and taking care of one another, even during our most difficult transitions. The book lands at a particularly important time as women everywhere seek deeper and more intimate connection.
In He Came In With It: A Portrait of Motherhood and Madness, artist Miriam Feldman expands into writing by sharing very personal experiences with her son’s mental illness as well as the greater impacts on the entire family. Feldman shares the ups and downs of navigating the mental health system, seeking the best care for her son within a structure that is all too often broken.
Since the arrival of Covid19, Americans have turned to anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication in sharply increasing numbers. Dr. Jim Polo, a licensed psychiatrist, talks with Beyond Well about the who, what, where, and when of seeking psychopharmacological help. Also, why counseling and behavior modification improves outcomes more than medicines alone.
Since the arrival of Covid19, Americans have turned to anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication in sharply increasing numbers. Dr. Jim Polo, a licensed psychiatrist, talks with Beyond Well about the who, what, where, and when of seeking psychopharmacological help. Also, why counseling and behavior modification improves outcomes more than medicines alone.
Laryssa Birdseye is the rare performer whose onstage person matches the intensity and brilliance of her voice.
Birdseye’s lyrics are drawn directly from her wry and hilarious commentary on the state of her psychological world. Laryssa’s clarity about her lifelong battle with anxiety, an eating disorder, and finally alcoholism, is a refreshing blast of honesty, “You think it’s over because you’ve whipped it…oh, but no.”
How do you cope with the long reality of Covid19?
Dr. Jenna LeJeune shares some tips and compassionate
guided exercises for moving into the now.
Dr. Jenna LeJeune breaks down the psychological components of stress eating and restricting during quarantine. Both impulses come out of a well established human urge to control our surroundings and how we feel in reaction to stress, anxiety, and sadness.
Doyle Smith, Angel Prater, and Michael Sorenson devote their lives to caring for people who are suffering from psychological distress. Smith runs Dual Diagnosis Anonymous, Prater is an intentional peer support national trainer and Sorenson is the business development director for Cedar Hills Hospital. In this interview, you'll hear specific techniques for moving beyond the isolation and fear of Covid19.
Our conversation with Erin Khar was recorded before the COVID19 pandemic but it speaks to an already existing crisis in our country, the opioid epidemic. Erin's brilliant memoir explores her fifteen-year-battle with opiate addiction and the very nature of why people do drugs, often to medicate other underlying mental health disorders. Her writing is clear-eyed, factual and cognizant of her own privilege as Erin finally wound her way to health.
Dr. Jim Polo talks about the unique barriers to
effective mental health treatment faced by black
Americans. Racial trauma is key to understanding
the black experience.
Dr. James Polo joins the team at Beyond Well, with a background as a general physician, as a child psychiatrist, and as a general psychiatrist. Dr. Polo brings over 20 years of experience and previously served as Chief Medical Officer and senior psychiatric physician for Western State Hospital in Washington. He led development and oversight of psychiatric services in various military hospitals, served at the Pentagon as the Health Policy Advisor to the Secretary of the Army. He helped orchestrate complex care delivery for a children’s health care network in Washington state.
In this interview, Dr. Polo talks about one of the most powerful experiences that helped him understand the complex forces of addiction and the depth of psychological struggle in family structures.
We are #turningoverthemic to #BlackVoices, including Domonique Debnam, an advocate and marketing executive for Brand Jordan at Nike in Portland, Oregon.
Domonique shares her personal experiences growing up in one of the whitest cities in America and how the worldwide protests against police brutality have changed everything for Domonique personally and her hopes for the future.
Andrew Solomon says of depression, "Listen to the people who love you. Believe that they are worth living for even when you don't believe it. Seek out the memories depression takes away and project them into the future. Be brave; be strong; take your pills. Exercise because it's good for you even if every step weighs a thousand pounds. Eat when food itself disgusts you. Reason with yourself when you have lost your reason.”
This is a conversation with one of America's renowned writers, thinkers, and advocates about the less reported health impacts of Covid19; the epidemic of depression, and the self-reported increase in anxiety caused by loneliness, job insecurity, and fears of the future.
Doyle Smith, Angel Prater, and Michael Sorenson devote their lives to caring for people who are suffering from psychological distress. Smith runs Dual Diagnosis Anonymous, Prater is an intentional peer support national trainer and Sorenson is the business development director for Cedar Hills Hospital. In this interview, you'll hear specific techniques for moving beyond the isolation and fear of Covid19.
Zach Carothers talks about his interior work during Covid19, taking time to pay attention to his mental health, and putting down roots in the Portland area for the first time. The PTM Foundation is also advocating for indigenous peoples who have been severely impacted by the spread of Covid19.
Carothers is clear-eyed about the challenge of a pandemic. "We will not be the same people coming out of this that we were going in," Carothers says." But, we have the chance to create what's next. And that's, exciting."
Dan Ryan reflects on the similarities between the HIV/Aids crisis and Covid19, including a lack of adequate testing, discrimination against people who contracted the virus, disinformation, and a worldview awareness that viruses can be deadly. Ryan also says the experience deepened him as a human being and set him on a path of deep spiritual exploration.
Dr. Jenna LeJeune is helping couples navigate tricky territory during the quarantine. How do you help someone who is experiencing extreme distress? Dr. LeJeune offers compassionate, evidence-based solutions.
Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff talk about the increase in people seeking therapy with divorce or separation on their minds. The unusual circumstance of quarantine, financial stress due to layoffs, and close quarters is creating a relationship powder keg unlike any other time in recent American history. This episode is for anyone wondering "Is it over?"
In a recent Gallup poll, more than eighty percent of Americans now say financial stress is their biggest concern related to Covid19. While there is little we can control with regards to employment, there are practical steps we can take to be prepared for re-employment, and more importantly, emotional well-being practices we can use to stay grounded, even during the crisis.
The vaccine for polio was announced 65 years ago, in April of 1955. Dr. Jonas Salk who led the team that developed the vaccine understood the urgency of a pandemic, and more broadly, that the key to eradicating disease takes more than science alone.
In this interview with, Dr Salk’s youngest son, Dr. Jonathan Salk, Beyond Well’s Sheila Hamilton talks about the human, social, political and economic relationships involved in eradicating disease.
Katherine Olivetti is a psychoanalyst and a dream expert who has authored two books on the topic. For the first time in her research, she is gathering data that suggests people of all cultures, from different countries, are having the same themes in their dreams.
This is an incredibly hopeful and uplifting conversation about the power of dreams to help remake who we become as human beings.
Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff talk about the unique impact on healthcare workers during Covid19 and the actionable items they and their loved ones can take to protect their mental health.
Cambia Health Solutions CEO Mark Ganz joins Beyond Well to talk about the enormous impact COVID19 is having on health organizations and describes his own personal battle against Covid19. "We are in the black swan of black swan events," Ganz says, "But the access to behavioral healthcare via telehealth may be one of the silver linings of this pandemic."
Dr. Jim Polo, Cambia's Medical Director also joins the conversation to talk about how to take care of Covid19 related anxiety.
Dr. C. Lamar Frizzell and Michael Sorenson join Sheila Hamilton to talk about the need for more psychiatric care and access to psychiatric beds. Universal Health Services is proposing to build 100 new beds in Wilsonville, but there is still some political opposition. A group of legislators, senators and business owners is petitioning the Governor to allow the hospital to be built.
FACE COVID is developed by Russ Harris, an ACT therapist based in Australia. It is a set of practical steps for responding effectively to the Covid crisis, using the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy.
F, focus on what's in your control. A. Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings. C. Come back into your body. E. Engage in What you are doing. Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff take you through the practice.
During the #Covid19 pandemic, Dr. Jonathan Horey continues to see patients who are seeking relief from drug-resistant depression. Dr. Horey has been practicing psychiatry since 2006. And treating patients with transcranial magnetic stimulation since 2017. He is passionate about the treatment of depression and helping his patients who are suffering. TMS is FDA cleared, non-invasive and non-medication treatment option that uses electromagnetism.
Leslie Barber’s husband died of cancer in June of 2015. And as Leslie points out, nothing she’d done in her life prepared her for the shock, trauma, and loneliness of her husband’s death. Leslie was struck by how unprepared her friends and even her family were in dealing with her grief. Our culture is incredibly good at celebrating life. We need to learn to get better at acknowledging and coping with grief, the other end of the human cycle. Leslie’s support group at www.AGriefWarrior.com is a place to begin healing.
Shame is the most painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. But, as Dr. Goff and Dr. LeJeune discuss, shame roots at the very being of what we care about most.
With an increase in public shaming, the potential of depression, isolation, and self-harm increases. The point, as Dr. LeJeune says, is to always offer a fellow human the path to retribution.
C. Lamar Frizzell is the CEO of Cedar Hills Hospital and an expert in both mental health and divinity. At a time when so many people are asking the question, "Why is there so much suffering?" Sheila and Lamar talk about how we can view this crisis through the lens of spirituality.
This is the first interview Beyond Well is conducting by Zoom due to quarantine. Please be patient as we work to improve our sound!
Dr. Brian Goff and Dr. Angela Izmirian provide guidance for how to talk to your kids about the seriousness of Covid-19, tips for calming your anxiety and panic, and the basics of bouncing forward or becoming a more resilient, compassionate person despite the chaos around us.
The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung once said: “People will do anything, no matter
how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls.” Perhaps that is why therapy is often
seen as a last stitch effort to reclaim something people feel that they’ve lost—their health,
their happiness, or their relationships.
In this interview, Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff discuss the reasons behind therapy,
and their ardent belief that most people wait far too long (or until they are in crisis), to face their
souls, their problems, and their habituated patterns in life.
Coronavirus is scary. How we respond to it can be even scarier. According to the Economist, more than two thirds of American report being very concerned about the U.S. pandemic. How do we calmly prepare for disruptions to our lives without panicking? What are some of the evidence-based techniques for helping people with anxiety and panic disorders? How do we cope with the likelihood of temporary financial and social stress?
This episode is for anyone who wants a centered, calm approach to getting through the Coronavirus pandemic.
Episode two.
Dr. Brian Pilecki combs the findings of science with compassion and curiosity. He is research the efficacy of psychedelics and studying harm reduction for people who want to use psychedelics to help with trauma, ptsd, anxiety disorders, and depression. In recent years, psychedelics have drawn interest for their unique ability to create a mind shift and lasting relief for clients who have otherwise battled intractable suffering.
Episode One.
Dr. Brian Pilecki combs the findings of science with compassion and curiosity. He is research the efficacy of psychedelics and studying harm reduction for people who want to use psychedelics to help with trauma, ptsd, anxiety disorders, and depression. In recent years, psychedelics have drawn interest for their unique ability to create a mind shift and lasting relief for clients who have otherwise battled intractable suffering.
Mitchell Jackson is an American author. His critically acclaimed book, Survival Math earned its title as Mitchell recalled calculating what it would take to survive the poverty stricken neighborhood of North Portland and the friends and family members who had become thugs, murderers, and drug dealers. Mitchell’s ascent from drug runner to prison inmate to a literary phenom is a reflection of his deep study and thinking on topics ranging from black history to Kobe’s lasting legacy on young black men in America. We invite Mitchell to @BeyondWell to regularly discuss race, rage, and how to stay sane in some of the craziest times in American history.
Scott the Painter (Scott Erickson) is one of Beyond Well’s favorite guests, both for his refreshing candor regarding his personal suffering but also because his visual art, stories and his performance art resonate with tens of thousands of young people who are tired of staring at their phones and want to find deeper connection. In this episode, we talk with Scott about loneliness versus spending time alone, connecting during the darkest days of winter, and Scott’s personal wellness routine.
We talk with three employees about the experience of being gay, trans, and queer in the workplace.
For many people who are considered “different,” the question of whether they are being passed over for Lunch invitations and promotions is the biggest mystery of all. “Is it because I’m gay? Or because I’m fat? Because it’s not because I’m not a good worker.”
This is a painful, illuminating, and wonderful reaffirming interview with three people who have found their voices and plan to continue to hold businesses accountable until diversity and inclusion is not just a goal—it’s a value.
Dr. Brian Goff and Dr. Angela Izmirian (sitting in for Dr. Jenna LeJeune), talk about what it takes to make a great relationship. If you want to give something sexy to your partner but cringe at the idea of a hallmark cards or flowers, share this episode. It will spur the kind of communication that even Cupid would approve of.
Lindy West is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman (2016, Hachette Books) as well as the brand new essay collection The Witches are Coming (2019, Hachette Books). In 2018 she wrote and executive produced Shrill as a half-hour comedy for Hulu, which just wrapped its second season. With frequent collaborators Ahamefule J. Oluo and Charles Mudede, she wrote and executive produced Thin Skin, an independent feature film, currently in post-production, and she and Oluo are writing a script for Shonda Rhimes’s upcoming Netflix anthology series Notes on Love.
We are starting 2020 by taking a look back at a few of our favorite shows from 2019. This show was originally released in November of 2019. It features special guest Israel Nebeker.
He is the founder of Blind Pilot and a singer/songwriter whose music now reaches millions of fans. In this episode, Israel talks about confronting one of the darkest periods of his life by wandering into the Black Forest in Germany—with no path to follow and not sure if he would ever find his way out. It was only by confronting his loneliness, his fear, and his belief that he was powerless to change the dynamic that he experienced a significant awakening.
This interview was voted one of our favorites by the Beyond Well Team because of how open, authentic and vulnerable
Israel and his music is. Don’t miss it.
There is a reported increase in the number of people seeing psychologists and psychiatrists for politically based fear, anxiety, and depression. In this episode, Dr. Goff and Dr. LeJeune discuss ways to stay healthy, engaged and positive during times of political stress. One of the hallmarks of politically induced anxiety is hyper-vigilance. Learn how to recognize it, calm your nervous system, and get busy applying your energy to something positive.
We are starting 2020 by taking a look back at a few of our favorite shows from 2019. This show was originally released in June of 2019.
Storm Large: musician, actor, playwright, author, awesome. She shot to national prominence in 2006 as a finalist on the CBS show Rock Star: Supernova, where despite having been eliminated in the week before the finale, Storm built a fan base that follows her around the world to this day.
Storm joins us to talk about growing up with a severely mentally disturbed mother and the message she received from her mother's doctor, "Oh yeah, you will absolutely end up like your Mother. It's hereditary." But, this conversation is not about Storm's efforts to outrun a diagnosis, it's an artist's journey back to herself. Storm's autobiographical musical memoir, Crazy Enough, played to packed houses in 2009 during its unprecedented 21-week sold-out run in Portland. She's back for the ten-year reunion stronger, wiser, and larger in spirit than ever before.
(Don't miss the after the show conversation about cancel culture and what really goes on in therapy.)
In October of 2019 we spoke to pop Superstar Lauv. He was on top of the world with the kickoff of his How I’m Feeling Tour, and using his global platform to promote mental health. In every show, Lauv takes a few minutes to describe his descent into depression and severe OCD, and why he credits therapy and medication with allowing him to regain his creativity and confidence.
Lauv has partnered with Microsoft to create a worldwide mental health platform that connects people all over the globe. “No Matter where people are in the world, they can see that someone else is experiencing something really similar.”
Check out MyBlueThoughts.World and our blog of the concert at TheAnthem in D.C.@BeyondWellWithSheilaHamilton.com
This show was originally released in March of 2019.
We're thrilled to Re-visit Lidia Yuknavitch. The author of nine books, including The Chronology of Water, The Small Backs of Children, The book of Joan, and the Misfits Manifesto. Lidia's Ted Talk, The Beauty of Being a Misfit has been viewed 2,862,000 times. We think she has something to share about how telling and retelling your story can help re-frame traumatic experience.
Dave Dahl speaks openly about his ongoing management of depression and bipolar disorder and the excruciating climb back from a manic episode that nearly ended his life. Dahl’s entrepreneurial journey began in prison. In 1987, Dave was addicted to drugs and incarcerated for home burglary. Dave returned to his family bakery in the mid 2000’s and quickly developed a marketing juggernaut, Dave’s Killer Bread. In 2015, the Dahl family sold the business for $275 million dollars. In this interview, Dave talks with Sheila about the crucial necessity of management of his mental health symptoms.
We are starting 2020 by taking a look back at a few of our favorite shows from 2019. This show was originally released in March of 2019. It features special guest Cheryl Strayed.
The message of Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Trail has helped millions of people process grief in a new and profound way.
In this episode of Beyond Well, Sheila Hamilton and Dr's Brian Goff and Jenna LeJeune talk about the potential of bouncing forward after loss, and of grieving from a place of honesty and self-compassion.
Mike Schmidt is running for Multnomah county district attorney with one of the most multi-dimensional views toward the criminalization of the mentally ill we’ve ever heard. Mike’s experience as an inner city school teacher informs his sense of justice and rehabilitation.
Dr. Brian Goff and Dr. Jenna LeJeune debate the nature of #self-care and whether the notion of self care has a negative impact on people’s lives because it singles out your “self” from all the other selves you love (people, pets, work partners, etc.) Jenna argues to be sure to include you always in the group of people you are caring well for, using the skills of LovingKindness Meditation, Brian is more open to the notion of #selfcare as it can help people who might otherwise have restricted or denied themselves love and compassion a gateway to care.
Do “Trigger warnings” and “Safe Spaces” really keep us safe? Dr Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff discuss the dangerous trend toward identifying feelings as painful and thoughts as dangerous and harmful. But what are meant to be “safe-spaces” turn into echo chambers, shutting down any diversity of perspective or thought. New research suggests that trigger warnings may actually result in increased anxiety and Increased stigmatizing beliefs.
C. Lamar Frizzell, CEO of Cedar Hills Hospital, has worked in the field of behavioral healthcare for over 20 years. Most recently, Frizzell held a similar role at Willow Creek Behavioral Health located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Frizzell brings practical experience as a line-staff member and is educated in the fields of both Mental Health and Divinity
In this interview, Sheila talks with Frizzell about the enormous pressure facing psychiatric hospitals because of an explosion of people in crisis. There are never enough beds, care is complicated, and psychiatric doctors and nurses are in short supply. Frizzell’s personal history growing up in a home where mental health problems were abundant informs his compassion and empathy for people in crisis.
What makes a meaningful life? How Can we all live lives of purpose, focusing on who and what matters most to us regardless of whatever difficulties we are facing? These are the questions at the heart of Beyond Well cohost Jenna LeJeune, Ph.D. and her partner Jason Luoma, Ph.D.'s new book Values in Therapy" A Clinician's Guide to Helping Clients Explore Values, Increase Psychological Flexibility, and Live a More Meaningful Life.
In this very personal episode of Beyond Well, Jenna and Jason offer some of their ideas on what it means to live a value based life and how doing so can bring a sense of meaning, purpose, and vitality to our everyday lives.
Nastashia Minto is an author, poet, and spoken word artist with the Soul of a Southern Pastor. In this interview, Nastashia talks about finding faith while abandoning her religion and delivers two of her stunning spoken word performances.
This is one of the most relevant conversations you’ll hear if you hunker down from late November until the New Year. The holiday blues are often a barometer of the stories we tell ourselves about what we should have, and compare those narratives to stories about what others seem to have. We invite you to a discussion on what some view as the hardest time of the year.
Cassidy Quinn is one of the most beloved Northwest news and entertainment personalities. As host of a tv news program, Tonight with Cassidy, a radio show and a popular Youtube channel, Cassidy barely has time to sleep. In this episode, Cassidy talks about what it took to finally admit that she was suffering from depression and anxiety, and how she lives well despite her diagnosis.
Israel Nebeker is the founder of Blind Pilot and a singer/songwriter whose music now reaches millions of fans. In this episode, Israel talks about confronting one of the darkest periods of his life by wandering into the Black Forest in Germany—with no path to follow and not sure if he would ever find his way out. It was only by confronting his loneliness, his fear, and his belief that he was powerless to change the dynamic that he experienced a significant awakening. This interview was voted one of our favorites by the Beyond Well Team because of how open, authentic and vulnerable Israel and his music is. Don’t miss it.
As an actor on the hit series American Vandal and someone who is constantly in the public eye, Kiah Stern has no plan B. She’s working plan A with an intensity and focus rarely talked about when people dream of becoming a star.
We talk with Kiah about how best to deal with a barrage of “feedback,” solicited or not. From her body to her hair to her various film and tv roles, Kiah (who played Jenna Hawthorne in Season Two of American Vandal) has developed specific techniques for how to deal with solicited and unsolicited feedback. In this episode, Kiah explains her love/hate relationship with social media, how she incorporates audition like techniques in her everyday life, and when she says no to external feedback.
People are increasingly unsure about kids, and the US and European fertility rate is at an all time low. According to Pew Research, 1 in 5 people will remain childless. This week, the Beyond Well Team talk about the growing number of people who are intentionally childless. If you are attempting to decide whether to have children, this episode is for you.
As a farm girl raised in eastern Oregon, Jackie ShannonHollis expected to become another someday. But, after several failed relationships, Jackie met the love of her life, a man who did not want children. In direct and intimate language, Hollis talks about her consideration of what to keep and what to abandon to make space for love. Her debut memoir, This Particular Happiness is receiving critical acclaim for its honesty, its poetry, and one woman’s ability to tell the truth about our most intimate desires.
Ron Artis II is growing into a newly accessible and emotionally acute period of his life.
His new album, Love is Love, is a departure from the funk and soul fans are accustomed to from his wildly popular band, Ron Artis II and the Truth, but its stunning lyrics and melodic sound reveal a growth Ron himself says he nearly missed, “From the age of thirteen to eighteen, while I was concentrating on becoming the best guitar player I could be, I thought emotions were something to be dispensed with, a distraction. I didn’t realize how much potential for
creativity I was missing.”
Bestselling-Author Cheryl Strayed met her husband nine days
after she’d finished her now famous journey along the Pacific Crest Trail. “The woman I was before that hike would not have been ready to meet and fall in love with Brian.”
Brian Lindstrom and Cheryl speak candidly with the Beyond Well Team about the intention and communication necessary to maintain a purposeful, values-oriented relationship, and the sheer luck there is in finding someone who sees and supports your dreams.
Lindstrom and Strayed just combined creative forces to shoot their critically acclaimed documentary “We are Forbidden” about young women in Nepal who are ostracized during menstruation.
Pop Superstar Lauv is on top of the world with the kickoff of his How I’m Feeling Tour, and he’s using his global platform to promote mental health. In every show, Lauv takes a few minutes to describe his descent into depression and severe OCD, and why he credits therapy and medication with allowing him to regain his creativity and confidence. Lauv has partnered with Microsoft to create a worldwide mental health platform that connects people all over the globe. “No Matter where people are in the world, they can see that someone else is experiencing something really similar.” Check out MyBlueThoughts.World and our blog of the concert at TheAnthem in D.C. @BeyondWellWithSheilaHamilton.com
Kathleen Lane is the author of The Best Worst Thing, a young reader’s book for anxious kids and the founder of www.createmorefearless.org a program that uses creativity to explore, express, and connect. This episode includes tips for anxious children and pre-teens as well as brilliant takeaways for parents who cope with adult-sized worries.
Lyme Disease is the fastest growing infectious disease in the world, eclipsing the HIV/Aids crisis by over 10X. It is now reported in all 50 states and 79 countries. The CDC estimates 400,000 new cases per year, but even that number is thought to be on the low end of the problem. Lyme has been reported to be associated with various psychiatric presentations because Borreliaburgdorferi can present with symptoms similar to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Because Lyme patients are so often misdiagnosed and mistreated, a higher level of risk to self and others is associated with multiple symptoms developing after acquiring LAD.
Liz Pratois the author of several award-winning books and story collections. She talks with Beyond Well about the challenge of a creative life while living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Liz says, “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has forced me to get very quiet with myself, and ask who am I, apart from this body?” Liz’s insight into the psychological and physical toll of Chronic Fatigue is both illuminating and sobering. People who suffer from Chronic Fatigue syndrome are often dismissed by both the medical community and too often, their friends and family. Chronic Fatigue is a medication condition of unknown cause, with fever, aching, and prolonged tiredness and depression.
- If you’ve ever passed a homeless teen on the street and wondered, “How did they get there?” or “How can I help?” this interview with Rei Scozylakas is worthy of your time.
Rei Scozylakas wasn’t dealt an easy hand in this life. But, as you can hear in our conversation, Rei’s story isn’t just one of struggle. In fact, that’s not even the most compelling part of their story
“Nobody is born wanting to be an outcast. It wasn’t until I was really seen by the volunteers at Outside Inn, that I realized there was a different path than the one I was on.”
Sheila Hamilton is a national speaker on suicide prevention, mental health, and resilience. In this live presentation, Sheila talks about the unique opportunity we have to remake ourselves, again and again. During Suicide Prevention month, reach out to someone who may be suffering from prolonged grief, complicated depression or suicidal thoughts and remind them: One day, your story about what you are going through will help someone else survive another day. There is an opportunity for growth in every aspect of our suffering. Stay Another Day.
In honor of Suicide Prevention Week, we are bringing you multiple stories of hope, resilience, and healing. Lois Chauncey lost her husband to suicide in May, and like many other suicide loss survivors, she feared she would also lose her job due to her complicated grief. Paul Sale, her Supervisor, provided a textbook-like example of how a company should appropriately respond to a suicide loss survivor in the workplace. From the humbling way in which Paul responded to the initial news of suicide, to the steps Lois and Paul took to inform others in the workplace, the empathy, compassion, and kindness one team took to welcome back in a suicide loss survivor is a hopeful study in how a workplace can help heal a co-worker's grief, and win a valued employee's respect and loyalty.
Twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day in America, outpacing deaths in combat or war supporting activities. Despite the military’s best efforts to contain a public health crisis, the numbers of deaths continue to rise. The Beyond Well team had extraordinary insight into the causes and potential remedies of military suicides in our conversation with New York Times bestselling author and former Special Tactics Officer, Dan Schilling. Schilling spent more than 30 years in the military, primarily as a Combat Controller and Special Tactics Officer, though he proudly started his career as an infantry grunt. His numerous combat and clandestine deployments have taken him around the world and include Operation Gothic Serpent, popularly known as Black Hawk Down from the movie and book bearing the same name, where he is credited with saving the lives of a Ranger and SEAL Team Six SEAL while under fire. He later founded and then served as the first commander of two special operations squadrons, one of which’s name and purpose remains classified. A purveyor of adrenaline-fueled endeavors, he holds the Guinness World Record for most BASE jumps in 24 hours (201), a feat he conducted to benefit children who’ve lost a parent in special operations through the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. He is also a pro-rated demonstration skydiver, speedwing flyer and expert skier and volunteer instructor with Wasatch Adaptive Sports, helping those with disabilities to experience the thrill of downhill skiing. Beyond Well talks with Dan about the mental health crisis in America’s military.
Ken Cervera's openness, his honesty and his path to wellness have all been informed by an immensely isolating period in his late twenties when he attempted to end his life. Ken drove his motorcycle through a Los Angeles intersection straight into an oncoming vehicle. Miraculously, both drivers escaped harm.
It is Suicide Prevention Week and we believe suicide attempt survivors can be extremely helpful in understanding the suicide epidemic, the mindset of suicidal ideation, and why relationship-centered and evidence-based treatment is essential to recovery.
Ken Cervera is the host of Own Your Truth Podcast, a personal coach, and the Director of Wellness for Mind Health Institute, Pasadena.
Edan Armas is an award-winning Spoken Word Artist and Poet and graduate of Stanford University.
Armas was the 2019 Baccalaureate student speaker, and an outspoken voice on the topic of student mental
Health. Edan’s undergraduate career focused on how emotion manifests in the body, mind and the
collective consciousness.
Edan encourages students to embrace both the tribulations and triumphs of the college experience,
noting that the process of adulting is difficult—even painful, and how vulnerability became his superpower.
Logan Lynn is a musician, writer, producer, filmmaker, TV personality and LGBT activist. Since 1998, Logan has released nine studio albums and is the former host of Logo's "NewNowNextMusic." But, in the midst of his success, Lynn relied on self-medicating with drugs and alcohol as a response to years of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a trusted family friend.
It wasn't until a therapist asked Lynn, "What happened to you?" that Logan was able to deconstruct his own history of trauma. In this intimate interview, Lynn talks about his own unique path to recovery, why medical marijuana is part of his treatment plan, and how he consciously chooses life every day.
We hire personal trainers to help us get in shape, tutors for difficult subjects, and music instructors to learn to master musical instruments.
So, why are people reluctant to hire a therapist, a person trained to help people better manage their minds? In this episode, Jenna, Sheila and Brian talk about how therapy works and what really goes on in therapeutic sessions.
Sharma Shields wants us all to get real about the things we've done, the mistakes we've made, and the people we are hoping to become. Her writing, including her highly acclaimed novels, The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac, and the Cassandra, along with her award-winning short story collection, challenges readers to confront the most awful aspects of our society--sexual abuse, poverty, crimes against children, bullying, and environmental injustice.
But, Sharma is equally as open with her own life story, including alcoholism and living with multiple sclerosis. Sitting down with her was sheer joy, complete honesty, and a loving openness. How can we be both things? Both dark and light? Listen in:
Is it the sex itself, or something about sexual activity that is so good for our happiness? You might argue that people who are happier are more likely to have sex more often because they’re in a good relationship and are satisfied with it.
But, why do so many couples get hung up on frequency and type of sex? And how do we begin to communicate our needs honestly, without hurting our partners? Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff talk about the positive emotional aspects of sex, disagree on porn, and get real on what good sex is all about.
In this episode, Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr Brian Goff go deeper into some of the strategies they use with clients in recognizing, accepting and working with anxiety in order to continue to lead productive lives.
Dr. LeJeune and Dr. Goff both practice Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a unique empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment and behavior change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility means contacting the present moment fully as a conscious human being, and based on what the situation affords, changing or persisting in behavior in the service of chosen values.
Long before the death of Anthony Bourdain, Restauranteur John Gorham was addressing the issue of mental health in the kitchen. Restaurant workers have the highest rate of illicit drug use and the second-highest rate of suicide. In this episode, John talks with the Beyond Well team about the structural changes he's made to address anxiety, depression and drug use in restaurant workers. "Anthony's suicide was brutal on our industry," John says, "Because he had it all. He had the dream. He had it all. So if life wasn't good enough for him, how could it possibly be good enough for others who don't have his skills?"
John Gorham is Executive Chef/Owner of iconic Portland restaurants Toro Bravo, Tasty n Daughters, Tasty n Alder, PLAZA DEL TORO and co-owner of Mediterranean Exploration Company, Shalom Y'all, and Bless Your Heart Burgers. Gorham believes that a chef’s cuisine and style is influenced by a trade route composed of travels, past work and cities lived in.
Haley Johnsen is a singer-songwriter best characterized by her powerhouse vocals and unique lyrical perspective. Drawing inspiration from acts like Bonnie Raitt, Grace Potter, and Brandi Carlile, Haley sings with a soulful determination. Her songwriting speaks to common themes of loneliness, self-doubt and self-criticism. We talk to Haley about how she copes as a performer despite battling anxiety.
During 2017 and 2018, Haley toured as an opener for Sawyer Fredericks and as lead support for The Wind and The Wave all across the United States. She recently released her first full studio album and LP Golden Days now available everywhere. Haley talks with the Beyond Well Team about doing what she loves despite anxiety and self-doubt.
From Ari Mathae: "As I've come out, first as pansexual a couple of years ago and recently as nonbinary, I've had a lot of conversations with my friends and family and coworkers about gender and identity.
For me, being nonbinary allows me to make my own rules for how I move within the world and form my own idea of feminine and masculine. But I still struggle frequently with redirecting my mind when I worry about fitting in or not fitting in enough with our culture's binary expectations."
This episode is with Ari and their dad, Paul, talking about gender expectations, masculinity, and the role of the evangelical church in shaping gender expectations.
Drew Holguin was born in a predominantly black neighborhood to mixed-race family. "I was too white in my neighborhood, but not white enough at the white dominant schools I attended. Regardless of where I was, I wasn't accepted." Holguin began delivering drugs as a way of getting attention and friends.
Holguin is one of 3.45 million kids in this country who are suspended or expelled from public school, with few options for what comes next.
Open School is an innovative education program for students like Drew, who needed something different than a traditional school. Open School knows which kids are most likely to drop out. Educators interested in the whole person find those students and surround them with what they need to graduate and get ahead; rigorous academics, teachers who believe in them, and a whole lot of relentless love and support.
In this conversation, Drew talks about how emotional skill-building helped him create a healthy relationship, earn his Master's degree in Social Work, and return as a program manager in the counseling department at Open School.
www.openschoolnw.org
Narcissistic Personality Disorder or NPD is a condition characterized by an overwhelming need for attention and admiration, a heightened sense of self-importance, and a lack of empathy toward others. It is difficult enough to encounter a partner or business associate with NPD, but Liz Scott grew up with narcissists as parents.
Like an archaeological dig, Liz Scott’s memoir This Never Happened goes in search of the answers to the mysteries of her family. In her relentless quest to uncover the truth, she mines photographs and letters, leaving no one, including herself, unexamined. In the end, Liz's struggle clears decades of familial pain to make room for compassion.
Storm Large: musician, actor, playwright, author, awesome. She shot to national prominence in 2006 as a finalist on the CBS show Rock Star: Supernova, where despite having been eliminated in the week before the finale, Storm built a fan base that follows her around the world to this day.
Storm joins us to talk about growing up with a severely mentally disturbed mother and the message she received from her mother's doctor, "Oh yeah, you will absolutely end up like your Mother. It's hereditary." But, this conversation is not about Storm's efforts to outrun a diagnosis, it's an artist's journey back to herself. Storm's autobiographical musical memoir, Crazy Enough, played to packed houses in 2009 during its unprecedented 21-week sold-out run in Portland. She's back for the ten-year reunion stronger, wiser, and larger in spirit than ever before.
(Don't miss the after the show conversation about cancel culture and what really goes on in therapy.)
Skye Fitzgerald is an Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker whose work on issues of social justice takes him to the epicenters of suffering. We talk with Skye about how he maintains his sense of self while covering brutally difficult topics.
Skye's most recent film, Lifeboat, forced this choice: "When you see someone drowning after falling or being pushed from a boat filled with refugees, do you get the shot or do you pull someone to safety? I put down the camera and grabbed people from the water. It was the decision I made so that I could live with myself."
Today’s show with Nyna Giles exposes the good and bad news about psychological suffering. Let’s start with the bad news first… Psychological suffering doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care who you are, how wealthy your friends are, how beautiful you are, or what circles you run it. Psychological suffering can and will affect us all. Of course, privileges give certain people access to resources that may help those people cope more effectively with the suffering life deals them, but the suffering will happen all the same.
Nyna’s mother had all the trappings of the “perfect” life: she transcended her humble beginnings to become one of the “beautiful people,” hobnobbing with the rich and famous, including Grace Kelly, who she counted as her closest friend.
And yet, psychological suffering, this time in the form of psychosis, came crashing down on that beautiful picture. As her mother’s world shrank, Nyna did what any child would do; she tried her very best to “save” her mom. But, of course, even our best attempts to save our loved ones often fail. But here’s the good news… Being able to live a life of meaning and purpose also does not discriminate. It doesn’t matter who we are, where we live, what forms of suffering life has given us, what we have done or what has been done to us, living whatever life we have been given in a way that is personally meaningful and has integrity for us is possible for every one of us.
To find more information, links and After The Show Notes, please subscribe.
Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Without proper treatment, binge-eating disorder and bulimia can also bring misery and death. Robyn Cruz struggled with food throughout much of her adolescent and adult life, most notably, an eating disorder that crippled her spirit.
Now, Robyn is traveling the country with her husband and two daughters, determined to raise awareness about the deadly nature of eating disorders and the long journey she traveled to make peace with her body, her food, and herself.
A well-known published author, public speaker and coach, Robyn Cruze, MA, is Eating Recovery Center’s National Recovery Advocate. Robyn participates in national media events and conferences exclusively for Eating Recovery Center and its Partner Programs. She also serves as a crucial source of support and knowledge to alumni, families and professionals on behalf of Eating Recovery Center and the Eating Recovery Center Foundation.
Sophia Shalmiyev was eleven when she immigrated to New York City from Leningrad, motherless, displaced, and terrified. Shalmiyev is clear-eyed and unsentimental about the trauma and poverty she endured as a child and how it shaped the woman she is today as a feminist, artist, and mother.
Shalmiyev is fiery and unapologetic in her views of what it takes to raise a feminist son. Her opinion of her newly adopted country is equally as compelling. "I love America," she says, "It's broken, like me."
Shalmiyev is the author of Mother Winter, an MFA graduate of Portland State University, and a visual artist. She lives with her two children in Portland, Oregon.
Anna Debenham is the founder of the Insight Alliance, an organization that works with men and women in prison and in the community sharing two simple, but profoundly life-changing ideas:
- We have everything we need inside ourselves to lead a good life
- Our experience of life is being created moment to moment from the insight out by our thoughts.
At the heart of much of our suffering is our experience of life as something that is happening to us, rather than moving through us. As Anna puts it “We are feeling our thinking, not feeling the world around us.” Our minds create a virtual reality of the world that is so convincing that we usually can’t tell the difference between the world and the world as experienced through our thoughts. And it’s that world as experienced through thoughts that we become beholden to and, in that, lose the freedom to choose our path.
For the last few years, Laurel Braitman, has been teaching writing and communications skills to medical students and doctors at Stanford University, helping healthcare professionals connect more meaningfully with their patients, their peers, and themselves. Nearly 30% of American medical students are depressed and one in ten have thoughts about suicide. Practicing physicians are even worse off with some of the highest suicide rates in the nation. It's how we learn to communicate with one another that matters most. The most important thing we can do in the time we have here is connect with other people and ideally, make them feel less alone.
Laurel also studies we can learn from the emotional lives of non-human animals, including her New York Times bestselling book, Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves helped us see how we can learn a lot from our non-human animal counterparts.
Nate Botsford says he grew up with mental illness in his home, unable to comprehend until much later who much it shaped who he is as a singer/songwriter. Nate began writing music at the age of thirteen and recognized how much of his songwriting was influenced by the dysfunction of growing up in a household where depression, sadness, and malaise was part of the norm.
Today, Nate writes directly to the source of the negative voices he hears in his head. Listen in to the extraordinary sound and artistry of Nate Botsford.
If you've ever felt like giving up or wondered what the point of life is, Scott Erickson wants you to know you're not alone. Through performance art, story-teaching, participation, and image curation Scott talks about the overwhelming voices he encountered that told him three things--nothing new will ever happen, you are sick and ugly, and dying is better than living.
Then, Scott got curious about his interior life. And by examining his own existential crisis, Scott began to see this moment not as an ending but as a doorway into a much deeper invitation to understanding our hopes, vocation, and our existence itself. His live presentations are beyond the beyond.
#suicide #depression #anxiety #performance #art #storytelling #hope#existential #crisis #faith
Meet Eleven-year-old Heather, whose quote book carries these bits of wisdom. "Don't judge by the outside. Dig deeper."
"I was an easy target. Now I'm not."
And "I was bullied when I was younger and I've never been the same since."
Heather was recently diagnosed as autistic, but, for a long time, kids just called her weird or different. She was bullied and terrorized for much of her elementary school experience. Finally receiving a diagnosis allowed Heather and her Mom access to tools to understand the unique nature of Heather's brain and how she might help others understand what it is like to be neurodivergent Now, Heather is reclaiming the word "weird" for herself and teaching other kids about what it means to be empathetic, open-hearted and hopeful.
- This is truly one of the most beautiful conversations we've had about the experience of psychosis and what it means to lose touch with reality. Sarah Townsend tenderly examines the terrifying experience of postpartum psychosis through art, film, psychology and explains why love and connection is key to finding ground again.
Sarah C. Townshend, Author, Therapist, Mother.
Setting the Wire, a Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis available at www.SarahTownsendwriter.com
Jen Pastiloff speaks with clarity and honesty about the sometimes rocky path to becoming human. She battled an eating disorder, she abandoned a brilliant path as a writer to become a waitress, and finally, she did something remarkable. She asked for help and willed herself toward health. Jen's honest assessment of who she is andwhat she has to offer the world is mother-effing awesome.
The CDC estimates that for every one person who dies by suicide, eight people are profoundly affected. The grief, shock and sadness is shared by friends, coaches, church members and community members. 48,000 people died by suicide in 2018, leaving behind hundreds and thousands of people asking the question "WHY?"
Leslie Abraham's husband died by suicide after a perplexing descent into depression. Her interaction with the psychiatric system is not uncommon--medicine didn't seem to help and her husband's shame over his condition forced the family into isolation. In this revealing and intimate interview, Leslie discusses what it means to be a suicide loss survivor and to rebuild her own view of mental health in the wake of such a significant loss.
I've been talking to experts about mental health, psychology and wellness for more than a decade. But, when I finally met Dr. Brian Goff and Dr. Jenna LeJeune, I knew they were my kind of people.
In this episode of Beyond Well, Brian and Jenna talk with Sheila Hamilton about their careers, and what brought them to be interested in a particular type of therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
Dr. LeJeune: "So much of the conversation around psychological suffering is pathologizing it. If you are experiencing pain, you've got to fix it. But if you are experiencing pain, that doesn't mean something is wrong with you. We have these tools that can help you develop psychological flexibility to deal more effectively with pain in the moment of your suffering."
Dr. Brian Goff: "I don't want people to fix themselves. I want someone to listen to this and feel like they're in good company with other humans and learn to reduce the pain they feel about their pain. How can I experience it in a way that even when my boat is taking on water, or is so scuffed up, or battered by the seas, I can still learn to sail."
Reema Zaman is the first born child of a Bangledishi family, whose parents moved to Thailand and Hawaii before Reema turned six. In other words, she became used to being considered different. Reema's experience as a young woman growing up in cultures where women were not regarded as equal humans created a litany of problems--anorexia and sexually and emotionally abusive relationships with men.
Reema has wrestled free from those nightmarish experiences to not only tell her story, but rewrite her own path forward as a woman, a feminist, and an actress. Her memoir, I am Yours, tells the story of how Reema wrestled free of her past to become an inspiration for millions of other young women.
Mitchell S. Jackson grew up in Portland, Oregon, one of the whitest cities in America. He dealt drugs, he spent time in prison, and then he went on to become a critically acclaimed author and teacher. His book, Survival Math is one of the most anticipated works on racism and the conditions that shape young black men.
In this episode of Beyond Well, Sheila, Brian and Jenna talk with Mitchell about why empathy may be the first step toward repairing America's fractures.
We're thrilled to welcome Lidia Yuknavitch, author of nine books, including The Chronology of Water, The Small Backs of Children, The book of Joan, and the Misfits Manifesto. Lidia's Ted Talk, The Beauty of Being a Misfit has been viewed 2,862,000 times. We think she has something to share about how telling and retelling your story can help re-frame traumatic experience.
Angela Schellenberg was at home watching television with her mother when the news described a vicious murder. Angela watched in horror as she realized the yet-to-be-named victim's car belonged to her Father. For weeks, Angela dealt with the fear and uncertainty of a killer on the loose, a trauma that ultimately contributed to her mother's mental breakdown.
In this riveting interview, Angela talks about rebuilding her life in the wake of trauma and become a licensed therapist who helps other people finding their way after violence.
Dr. Stuart Ablon is Director of THINKKIDS/Psychiatry at Massachusetts General and the co-inventor of Collaborative Problem Solving. In this interview with Sheila Hamilton and Dr.'s Brian Goff and Jenna LeJeune, Dr. Ablon talks about parenting explosive children. The well-researched truth, "They Do As Well As They Can" may change the way you think about discipline forever.
The message of Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Trail has helped millions of people process grief in a new and profound way.
In this episode of Beyond Well, Sheila Hamilton and Dr's Brian Goff and Jenna LeJeune talk about the potential of bouncing forward after loss, and of grieving from a place of honesty and self-compassion
Kerry Cohen is the author of Loose Girl and is a certified sex therapist. Her work with people recovering from sex and pornography addiction is grounded in compassion and understanding.
In this interview with Sheila Hamilton, Dr.'s Brian Goff and Jenna LeJeune, Kerry talks about why sex and porn addiction is often a substitute for grief, loss and meaningful attachment.
Courtenay Hameister talks with Sheila Hamilton, host of Beyond Well, and Dr.'s Brian Goff and Jenna LeJeune. Courtenay has lived with anxiety for most of her life. Her book, Okay, Fine, Whatever, the Year I Went From Being Afraid of Everything to Just Most Things chronicles a year in which Courtenay pushes herself to try almost everything that scares her. The results are funny and profoundly heartbreaking and provide a window into the reality of living with panic disorders and anxiety.